LEGO Star Wars Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and the Force
by Redrogue17
Summary: A long name for a reposting of my "Ninja Force" replacement. Please give it a chance, I've worked hard on it. Lloyd/OC friendship and Star Wars characters included. Again please R&R
1. Rise of the Snakes

**I was originally going to do this with "Ninja Force" but I lost interest with it. So, I am completely revising, revamping, and redoing my story and giving the old one to the one who PMs me the best pitch (as well as give you the secret).**

* * *

Many months after their return from their last adventure, the ninja and Nya, Kai's sister, had officially moved into the Monastery with Sensei Wu. Today, as he meditated in front of a burning pot of scented sticks, he also listened to the grunts and other sounds his male students made.

"Fire-strike!" he heard Kai exclaimed, bringing the man back into reality.

"Oh my gosh, is that the greatest move you've ever seen?" Kai asked.

That was weird; Kai shouldn't be able to do that yet. So he got up to check on his students and their progress.

"Stop trying to do it yourself, we need to attack as a team," he heard Cole scold.

Opening the doors and looking around, the sensei was surprised to see the training equipment out but not in use, and the ninja were not here but their voices could still be heard.

"Zane, why are you wasting your special attack on me?" Jay asked, "You're supposed to save it."

The old man opened the door to find his students playing their video game, when the four of them were supposed to be training. This would not stand.

"Fantastic, I'm out of lives!" Jay brooded as his teacher silently walked in.

"But the lesson is on, and I am getting the hang of it," Zane replied.

The boys made more random noises.

"Okay, now!" Cole yelled.

They all lean forward towards the television. Then it went black.

"Awww man!" the boys all cried in unison as Sensei Wu pulled the plug on the TV.

"What, what happened?!" Jay exclaimed.

"It took us three hours to get there!" Cole complained.

"What? Why did you do that, why?" Jay asked angrily.

Their mentor wanted to slap the back of their heads for their laziness. Evil was still out there and these four were completely blowing the danger off and more importantly their training.

"Just because Lord Garmadon escaped through a vortex doesn't mean he won't return one day for the Golden Weapons of Spinjitsu!" their teacher scolded.

"But Sensei Wu, ever since he has been gone, Ninjago has had nothing but peace," Zane replied.

"Yeah, peace is boring. There's no one to save, there's nothing to do," Jay complained.

"We can train tomorrow," Cole said as he leaned back.

"Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today," Sensei Wu warned.

"Well, I was going to eat this pizza tomorrow, so, if that's the case," Cole said and held up a piece of pizza, nearly eating it but the old man kicked it out of the boy's hand.

"No pizza for you! In order to reach your full potential you must train!" Sensei snapped.

"Uh, remember when we did a little thing called the 'tornado of creation'? I thought that's as pretty insane," Kai responded. After all, who else could create something out of nothing?

The old man just sighed at the four's apparent lack of progress and faith. What they were able to do now wasn't enough, not for their shared destiny.

"You four have merely scratched the surface of your full potential. There are still so many secrets for you to unlock… you haven't even begun to tap into what powers your golden weapons hold," Sensei said, glancing at each of them.

Everyone, however, was unmoved by the lecture. Behind them, a slice of pizza was being heated by the firesword. Then, Cole got an idea.

"You want to talk secret powers, check this out," Cole said.

He then picked up the cord, moves the plug back into the outlet and pushes it in, all with his scythe. The screen turned on and they boys start playing again. The old man just pulled his whiskers; these teens were beyond not ready. And at this rate, they'll never be.

"Don't worry Master; we'll be ready when Lord Garmadon returns," Zane said reassuringly.

At that moment, Nya rushed in.

"Guys… Lord Garmadon… he's returned!" she exclaimed, "He was spotted approaching Jamonikai Village!"

The guys stumble around and trip on each other, Kai tripping after getting a cord around his ankle. Three of them slightly reorganized themselves and ran out, pulling down their masks; Jay however, was busy looking for his weapon. Nya grabbed it and gave it to him.

"Th..than..thankss..thanks..." Jay stumbled.

"Hurry!" Nya exclaimed.

"Okay!" Jay shouted, flipping his hood down and following the others out.

They all ran to the dragons. Zane ran ahead as Kai lowered the door, nearly hitting Zane. Cole's scythe fell off as he jumped on Rocky, Jay jumped to Wisp's seat only to miss by a mile. Their master shook his head; they had become so lazy that they couldn't even respond to an emergency properly.

"Can I help?" Nya asked her brother while he got on his dragon, Flame.

"Sorry sis, where we go, danger abounds. This is a job for the ninja," Kai answered. Then he tried to reach the reins, only to come up short.

"Ah, a little help?" he asked then gave a weak laugh.

Nya, after rolling her eyes, helped Kai pick up his reins and the ninja flew off.

"Will they ever reach their full potential?" Nya asked the old man, having overheard some of the conversation.

"In time," the elder answered, "maybe a long time, but in time."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the skies, the ninja were for once glad that something bad was happening. They had been on vacation for so long, they were sick of it. Who knew a peaceful world was so boring?

"Just like old times, isn't it Rocky?" Cole asked his dragon.

After a few weeks of training on the dragons, Cole had completely gotten over his fear of them. Now, to him, dragons were just like overgrown puppies with scales instead of fur.

"Do you guys believe what Sensei said about unlocking our full potential?" Kai asked.

"He may be on to something, I mean since we got these golden weapons it's not like we've needed to use them. I wonder what they do," Jay replied, examining his nun-chuck.

"I for one look forward to the future, if there is more for us to accomplish, let it be," Zane happily added.

"Don't know about you, but is anyone else a little excited about battling Lord Garmadon? Been waiting to try out some new Spinjitsu moves, could be the perfect opportunity," Cole said excitedly, spinning in his seat.

"Ha-ha, race you there?" Jay asked.

They all nodded and took off, the dragons happy to be able to fly on such a nice day. They playfully followed their riders' commands while displaying impressive aerobatic maneuvers, seemingly defying the laws of physics. Soon, the boys saw a small town on the edge of a mountain, just below them.

"Jimanokai Village; first ninja there wins!" Kai said and shot forward.

They all follow his lead and end up crashing into the ground, tied for first. Not that any of the boys realized it.

"I was first!" Kai exclaimed, instantly standing up.

"No, no one was faster than me!" Jay replied.

"My feet were down before yours," Cole said to Zane.

Zane turns to the others, and corrected, "You are all disillusioned, it was clearly me."

The screaming and panic brought them back into reality, quickly ending the debate and sending them to beyond the village wall. They ran into town, just to find everyone running like lunatics, screaming in terror and shutting themselves inside their houses. The five ninjas ran inside the entrance to Jamonakai Village, brandishing their weapons. A large shadow appeared on the mountain behind the village.

"Stay sharp team, whatever happens, never let your guard down," Kai said quietly.

A familiar evil laugh echoed in their minds as the shadow got smaller and closer. The figure belonging to the shadow came nearer. It got closer... and closer... until finally, the figure walked out from behind the mountain. But instead of Lord Garmadon, it's actually a little boy in a black graphic tee, pants, and cape.

"It's I, Lloyd Garmadon!" he called out to the hidden town folk before jumping up on the fountain, "I demand all the candy in town, or else!"

The boys lowered their defenses and just stared in utter shock: this was the emergency? A ten year-old kid with a morbid imagination and a hankering for sweets?

" _Lloyd_ Garmadon? I thought we were going to face _Lord_ Garmadon," Jay said, confused.

"It's his son!" Cole realized, groaning and remembering that Sensei had once mentioned having a nephew, "He must've escaped his boarding school for bad boys again. And to think we could have been doing Spinjitsu already!"

Cole punched the air as they approached Lloyd. Who ever said 'the cherry doesn't fall far from the blossom' obviously never met Lloyd. The villagers, now realizing that they were in no real danger, gathered around the fountain with angry expressions on their faces, this made Lloyd nervous.

"Ah, ah, give me your candy, or I'll release the Serpintine on you!" he warned, getting desperate by the second looking at the booing crowd of villagers.

The ninja walked towards Lloyd as he pulled out and opened a can filled with fake snakes, snickering evilly. The people definitely didn't find it funny, and started throwing trash at the poor kid.

"No wait! I asked for candy, not vegetables! I HATE VEGETABLES!" Lloyd exclaimed, throwing the empty can's lid at them.

That caused many vegetables, banana peels, and other trash to come flying through the air at him, finally piling over him and knocking him down.

"He's gonna have to do a lot better than use an old bedtime story to scare people," Kai observed, launching a rubber snake into the air.

"The Serpentine are real Kai, they are not something to joke about," Zane warned.

"Serpentine… real? We're talking about the ancient race of snake-people who once ruled Ninjago and were supposedly locked underground," Kai scoffed.

"Sealed in five different tombs, to separate the five warring tribes, and insure they don't unify to exact revenge upon those who put them there!" Jay exclaimed worriedly.

"It was an old wives tale, to teach kids not to poke our noses where they don't belong." Kai snapped, obviously getting annoyed no one would drop the subject," Don't you think it's a little suspicious that no one's ever found one of their tombs?"

"That's because you'd be a fool to look for one. If there was anything I hated more that dragons, it was snakes, rubber or not," Cole responded as he walked up to and grab Lloyd, the lad hitting Jay's head with the empty can.

"Don't worry folks," Cole addressed the crowd, "we'll take care of this, nothing to see here."

"Bow down to me, or suffer my wrath! I'll give you to the count of three! One… two…" Lloyd ordered, struggling to get free from the boys carrying him.

"What are we supposed to do, spank him?" Kai asked.

"…Two-and-a-half..."

* * *

"WAA! You just made me your nemesis! Mark my words! You'll pay for this!" Lloyd cried, hanging from a happy baby sign's foot over one of the shops.

The boy ninjas and all the villagers laughed at his feeble attempts to get down. Zane walked over to a counter, bought the left-over candy and gave it to his friends, keeping a loll-pop for himself.

"Next time, try paying for your candy," Cole advised.

"Crime doesn't pay muchacho; you can take that to the bank," Kai smirked.

"Mmm, cotton candy," Jay smiled, teasing Lloyd, and ate his cotton candy.

Lloyd growled and struggled some more, he was really mad now. As the ninja left and the crowd went on with their previous business, a girl around Lloyd's age entered the way the "dark prince" did, albeit quieter and without any notice from the villagers.

"Well," the girl said to herself, "This dump beats the orphanage, that's for sure."

She had on a purple beanie cap with bits of brown hair sticking out as well as a purple shirt with long grey sleeves and a blue tone crescent moon and shooting star combo graphic to match her dark jeans and sneakers. She looked like any other kid in the village, though she strangely avoided the few children running in the streets. Instead, she made a beeline straight to the candy shop, inconveniently at the same time Lloyd freed himself.

"AHHHHH-OUF!" the boy screamed as he fell, his hood falling down.

"OW!" shouted the girl under his back, her cap having fallen off revealing her messy shoulder length hair, "Watch where'ya going, you jerk!"

Lloyd rolled his eyes as he got up, sarcastically saying, "Yeah, next time I fall from a sign, I make sure that no one's under me."

After the girl pushed herself up she and Lloyd turned to face each other, both screaming and jumping a step back after doing so.

"DUDE YOU GOT MY FACE!" the two shrieked and pointed to each other, then argued, " _YOUR_ FACE?! THIS IS _MY_ FACE!"

"I am Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon, and no else has…" The boy was ranting until he recognized the girl's shirt and yelled, "Hey, wait a minute! I know who you are; you're that weird girl from Mrs. Mariko's Home for Unwanted Children that messed up my favorite shirt."

"You mean the one you're wearing?" the girl responded smugly, then, taking a better look at Lloyd, added, "And you're that dufus kid from Darkley's that helped my public school win the elementary school bowling competition last year."

"It's not _my_ fault I suck at bowling!" he yelled as he pulled his hood back on; he then grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her with him, only to find her feet firmly planted.

"Uh, what are you doing?" she glared at him, not distressed at all.

"What do you think? You're my prisoner now, weirdy. I need you as a human shield while I think of my next plan of action."

"My name's Alexis, and I'm not goin' anywhere with you."

Lloyd was about to yell when he realized something, then, smiling smugly, stated "Well, if you don't come with me, I'll just tell the adults that you're a run away."

Alexis exhaled deeply in semi-defeat before putting her beanie cap on (hiding most of her hair) and proceeded to follow the boy away from the town.

* * *

While Lloyd and Alexis were talking, the ninja arrived back to the dragons. As the other ninja got on their dragons, Kai knocked something out of a bag attached to Flame. Jay walked over as Zane picked it up.

"Huh, I don't remember putting that there," Kai said, puzzled.

"That's Sensei's bag, you must have taken it in the rush," Zane explained as Kai unrolled the scroll.

On the scroll were some symbols, and a picture of five ninjas: one was dressed in red with a sword, another in black with a scythe, a third in blue with nun-chucks, the fourth in white with throwing stars, and the last and largest in green in the center do a jump kick.

"What is it?" Jay asked.

"It's a scroll windbag," Kai glared.

"I know it's a scroll, but what does it say, it's written in chicken scratch," he retorted as they crowd around Kai.

"Not chicken scratch, the ancient language of our ancestors," Zane replied.

"Uh, can you read it?" Kai asked.

"I can try… this symbol means 'prophecy.'"

"Prophecy?" Jay asked, clearly confounded.

"It means it tells the future," Kai deadpanned.

"Course, I knew that," Jay laughed pathetically.

"'One ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja, the ninja destined to defeat the Dark Lord'," Zane read slowly, pointing to the picture of ninjas.

"Oh look, a picture!" Jay exclaimed.

"Dark Lord? Hold on, do you think they mean Lord Garmadon?" Cole mused.

"Wait a minute, is that us? Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?" Kai asked.

"Like how good I'm gonna look in green?" Jay asked.

"Isn't it obvious I'm gonna be the Green Ninja?" Kai retorted.

"The color obviously suits me best," Jay snapped.

"Technically, I am the best," Zane countered.

"Everybody stop it! Remember why Sensei brought us together in the first place, we're a team. We weren't meant to see this and probably for good reason," Cole said, breaking up the fight, "Come on, let's head back home, we have training to do."

"It's about time I added some finesse to my routine," Jay replied.

"Well, I could use some exercise," Zane responded.

"Yeah, I gotta work on some new moves," Cole added as they take off into the sky.

Before taking off, Kai pondered to himself out loud, "Could I be the Green Ninja?"

* * *

Far off on a snowy mountainside, several minutes later, Lloyd grumbled and kicked a frozen pebble while he walked.

"Stupid ninja! I'll show them who they're dealing with!" the boy said in anger.

Alexis was a few feet behind him, shivering a bit as they walked.

"H-h-hey-y-y, G-g-g-gorm-m-mag-g-g-gon J-j-jun-n-n-ior-r-r," she called out between shivers, "D-d-does y-y-your p-p-plans inv-v-volve f-f-find-d-d-ding sh-sh-shelt-t-t-ter?"

"Stop being such a baby," Lloyd rebuked her as they continued walking, "It's not _that_ cold."

His pebble suddenly flew too far and hit something metallic. The preteens looked up in surprise. They quickly walked forward and both climbed over a small wall of snow. The boy dropped to the ground, the girl closely behind him, and moved some snow to try and find his pebble. A large flat rock was in front of him. Etched into the stone was a snake's head. Lloyd then found a little golden lever by his elbow.

"Uh, you're not thinkin' about doing what I think you're thinkin' about doing, are ya?" Alexis glared at him.

"Com'on, there could be treasure under this rock," Lloyd reasoned, "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Taking a backseat to my common sense," Alexis replied warily, "I have a bad feeling about this."

He pushed the lever forward, ignoring his "new friend" and the flat stone began to split down the middle. Green mist rose from the inside of the mountain. Lloyd stood up and immediately lost his balance and slipped over the edge, but not before instinctively grabbing on Alexis' arm and dragging her down with him.

"I blame you for this!" she yelled as they slid down an icy corridor.

When they reached the bottom, the Lloyd hit his head on a pointed piece of ice and tumbled onto the frozen floor, Alexis' riding stopping right where he was. The twosome looked around; they were in an icy cavern complete with frozen stalactites and stalagmites. The sound of dripping water echoed in their ears.

"So much for your treasure theory," the girl muttered under her breath.

"You both are out of your mindssss to venture sssso far away from home, little onesss," a low, cold voice spoke from behind them.

The children gasped gasped, turned around, and saw a blue snake-man figure holding a golden staff.

"Look into my eyessss," the figure said, "Give up your mindsss."

Red waves began pulsing from his eyes, nearly lulling Lloyd into a hypnotic trance. Alexis wasn't affected, but her terror caused her to hide behind Lloyd. They backed up and the snake followed.

"I will control you."

The kids cowered against a stalagmite and sank to the ground. Then, the snake looked at the ice that had collected on the stalagmite behind the humans... and hypnotized himself! Lloyd and Alexis stood up, looked at the ice, realized what had happened, and then Alexis breathed a sigh of relief as Lloyd laughed.

"No," the boy said evilly, " _I_ will control _you_ from now on!"

"What shall you have ussss do, Master?" the snake asked, bowing.

"Us?" the duo echoed, confused.

More snakes appeared from the shadows. Most people would run away screaming, Lloyd, however, seemed delighted while Alexis just stared in shock and awe.

"My own army of snakes!" he cried, "Muh-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the monastery, the ninja had returned and were still talking about the Green Ninja.

"So then we all agree, the prophecy states that one of us will become the Green Ninja, and the issue will not rest until it is decided," Jay said, rather fast.

"I suggest a tournament; last ninja standing is the best," Zane interjected.

"And be declared the Green Ninja! I love it!" Kai exclaimed excitedly.

The boys pushed open the doors to the monastery and walked into the training area to find Nya having a go at it. She did well; overall until she smacked into the flat side of an ax. Jay rushed to her side.

"Hey there Nya; any closer to beating your brother's speed record?" Jay asked shyly as he leaned over her.

"I'm getting there," Nya replied, standing back up with Jay's help. Then she asked, "I heard what happened to town, just a false alarm?"

"Yeah, uh, but we're gonna need the space, sorry sis," Kai answered, putting his arm on his sister's shoulder.

Cole walked over to a cabinet pulled out their kendo gear. He tossed each of the helmets to the others. Jay's helmet hit him on the side of his head.

"Two matches, the winner of each will face off for the title. Armor's for our own protection. It's time to see what these babies can do," Cole explained, raising his scythe in the air.

"Hey Nya, wanna stay and watch me mop the floor with them?" Kai asked.

"No thanks, I think I'll go to Jimonokai Village. Knock yourselves out," Nya replied and walked out of the monastery.

"Alright, first up, Kai versus Jay. Ninja GO!" Cole said and spun backwards.

Jay was showing off his nun-chuck skills while Kai raised his sword. Jay spun his nun-chucks around, eventually electrocuting himself, Kai tried unsuccessfully to knock Jay's weapon away. He dodged some of Jay's attacks, and to get around the opponent, he ran across the wall of the building. Jay swung his nun-chucks around, but somehow Kai's sword created a fireball that knocked Jay down. He glanced in awe at the sword. Jay walked off, defeated.

"Next up, Cole versus Zane. Ninja GO!" Kai said and stepped back.

Cole raised his scythe and Zane spun his shrunkens. Cole advanced at Zane, but sliced a piece of training equipment instead. He struck at Zane, but Zane blocked it. Zane jumped up and lands behind Cole, stinting him for a moment. He landed without his shrunkens, but revealed one which he threw at Cole. Cole's eyes widen as he plants his foot on the frozen weapon. Soon, ice grows, reaching its way up to his body to cover in ice. He glared at Zane as the white ninja pulled his other shuriken out of the air. Cole's face was obviously filled with terror as the ice encased his leg. Cole tried to block the shuriken flying at him, while trying deal with the ice already covering half his body. It seemed hopeless for him when he knocked Zane down and pinned him down with the scythe.

"For the prize and the title of best ninja," Jay said, bored, Zane sitting next him, "Blah, blah, Ninja go."

Kai and Cole began, their golden weapons clashing and clanging. Cole swiped at Kai's head, then back-flipped a few feet. He slammed his scythe into the ground, creating a crack that knocked Kai into a wooden training post. Kai became angry and swiftly got up. He began crazily spinning around.

"It's too hot!" he cried, struggling with his sword.

"It's burning," Zane said.

"Fire!" Jay yelled.

Kai spun around and around until he dropped his sword, which caught on fire. The fire spread around and trapped Kai in a circle of flames. Jay and Zane flipped over the small wall of fire. Cole hastily tried putting the fire out by clanging his scythe on the flames. Kai ran around inside the tiny circle while Sensei Wu appeared, throwing open the doors and running outside. He picked up Zane's shurikens and threw them in the air. He concentrated and the shurikens came together. They started generating ice and snow and flew around the courtyard, putting out the fire. They even doused the flames blazing brightly on Jay's rear. Then, the shurikens spun back to the Sensei and he caught them.

"What were you thinking?!" the old man demanded.

"Uh," Jay stammered, "we were trying to figure who was the Green Ninja…"

Zane whacked him sharply on his back. Their master wasn't supposed to know they knew about the prophecy.

"Ow! Uh, did I say 'Green Ninja'? No, sorry," He cleared his throat, "What I... What I said was 'lean'- Ah..."

"You were not supposed to see this," Wu sighed.

"But, Sensei," Kai explained, "We wanna know: Which one of us is the chosen one?"

"None of you!" the elder turned around, "If you do not unlock your full potential."

"But, my sword, it was so bright!" Kai questioned, "Is this what you meant by unlocking our Golden Weapons?"

"You are only at the beginning, and the road is long and winding. But yes, this is what I meant," Sensei Wu said, returning to his room, "If this is what it must take for you to train, then so be it, but none of you are near the level of what it takes to be the Green Ninja."

* * *

In Jamonakai Village, Nya walked to a fruit stand. She was about to pick up a pear, but screams and yells reached her ears.

"What now?" she said, looking around.

"Take the candy!" a boy yelled as he pushed a wheelbarrow full of candy out of a house, "Take it all!"

First, a strange girl around his age followed behind him, Nya didn't know if the girl was a victim or a participator. Then, two snake-like things came out behind the boy, one holding a glittering staff. The quaret passed by a group of villagers. She saw red waves appear from one of the snake's eyes. The villagers' own eyes became a dark red and they moaned.

Nya crouched behind the fruit stand as the two snakes left the children.

She heard one say, "Thissss makessss no ssssensssse, General. Raiding an entire town… for ssssweetssss?"

"You will do as I command," the larger of the two commanded, turning around and jabbing the smaller in the chest, "Because I have the sssstaff!"

* * *

The ninjas trained with their weapons, each using them to the best of their knowledge. Inside his room, Sensei Wu meditated in front of the incense pot again. Smoke rose from the pot and showed the man an image: Lloyd walking through Jamonakai Village, followed by a strange girl and agroup of snake people.

He then burst out of the room and cried, "The Serpentine are back! Everyone in Jamonakai Village is in danger!"

"Calm down, Sensei," Cole reassured, "We were just there. It was some kid who said he was…"

"The Spirit-smoke does not lie!" their mentor insisted, "An ancient evil has been released!"

"Nya's there right now!" Kai remembered.

"Nya?" Jay echoed.

The four ran to the dragons' stables, doing everything properly this time, and set out to Jamonakai Village once again.

"Stay close," Kai warned, "Stay together."

"Would we do it any other way?" Cole questioned.

* * *

Lloyd walked through the village, twitching and laughing crazily.

"Ha-ha-ha!" Lloyd laughed, "I'm never coming down from this sugar high! Woo-ho!"

"You bet," Alexis agreed, munching on some candy, having decided to join Lloyd.

Suddenly, the four Masters of Spinjitzu leaped down in front of them.

"Sorry to bust your buzz, little Garmadon," Cole said, "But it's way past your bedtime!"

"Yeah, you and…" Jay was trying to say something catchy to Alexis, but realized he didn't know her, "Wait, who's the she-kid?"

"Alexis," the girl groaned.

"Get them!" Lloyd exclaimed, breaking the conversation.

The largest of the snakes rattled his tail and hissed, "Get them!"

"The Serpentine?" Kai gasped, "They're real?"

The Serpentine closed in around the five.

"It's not just them we have to worry about;" Cole said worriedly, "The whole village has been hypnotized!"

Villagers had joined the Serpentine and were walking with them, moaning and mumbling.

Jay began swinging his nun chucks, until Zane stopped him and warned, "Our weapons are unstable! We could do more harm than good!"

Jay replied, "That leaves us with RUUUUUUUN!"

The ninjas dashed away. They flipped and spun until they came behind a building. They slid along the wall and ducked behind a wheelbarrow.

"Nya?" Kai asked as his sister suddenly jumped in front of the wheelbarrow.

"You're okay!" Jay said in relief.

"Barely," she responded, "They've hypnotized everyone in town!"

"Mind control," Jay asked, "How is this possible?"

"When you hear them rattle their tails," Nya warned, "don't look them in the eyes! That's how they get you. Though, I've seen a few try to hypnotize Lloyd's human friend by mistake and she seems immune."

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Jay complained, raising his arms in emphasis, "We can't use our weapons and now we gotta fight with our eyes closed? Perfect."

"The snake with the staff is the general," Nya stated, "He's the one in charge. If we can get the staff from him, it holds the anti-venom. If we get that, we can save everyone!"

"Look guys," Kai sighed, "Forget about the whole Green Ninja thing. Let's make Sensei proud. The five of us; we're a team."

"Now you're talkin'!" Cole grinned.

"And Nya," Jay said to the girl, "you can be our honorary member."

"Gee," Nya said sarcastically, "Thanks."

They jumped onto the roofs and picked their ways back to Lloyd and the Serpentine. Kai jumped down first and was immediately targeted by two snakes.

"You wanna play?" Kai asked, turning around, "How 'bout a little Spinjitzu? Ninjaaaaa-Go!"

He spun into a mini-tornado of red flames and moved towards the snakes. He suddenly whirled out of control and smacked into a wall, and fell down on the ground.

"Okay, we're really out of shape," Jay said from the roofs.

Kai quickly stood up and thrust up his arms, whacking two Serpentine in the nose.

"Hah!" Lloyd yelled over his shoulder as he and Alexis ran off with their stolen candy, "Consider this a warning, ninja! Muh-whaaa-ha-ha!"

Zane threw down his shurikens. Ice formed around the shurikens and Lloyd's wheelbarrow of candy would have bumped into them, tipping the wheelbarrow over, but Alexis intervened at the last minute.

"Look out!" she yelled, pushing Lloyd away from the ice.

"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" Zane yelled.

He spun into a tornado of ice and sped down the roof and kicked the wheelbarrow over.

"My candy!" Lloyd cried as Zane walked right beside the boy and girl.

"Sensei was right," the white ninja stated, "'Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today.' We should've dealt with you the first time around, then you won't have found Alexis and the Hypnobrai."

"Retreat!" Lloyd shouted as he ran off, Alexis following suit.

"Retreat!" The snake general repeated.

The Serpentine began to run out of the village. Cole jumped down from the roof and hit the general in the face with his feet. The snake dropped his staff and it landed in the snow.

"Go ahead," Cole said as the snake bent down to pick it up, "Give me a reason."

The general slithered away quickly. His second in command, however, had other plans.

"Look into my eyessss," he said, making Cole look up, "I control you."

"You... control… me," Cole mumbled.

He was lured into a snake's trap, and his eyes turned scarlet.

He then snapped out of the trance when Nya shouted, "Cole!"

She ran to the snake, then jumped up and kicked him in his face. Cole and the snake walked away in opposite directions.

"You have the anti-venom!" Nya cried.

Cole shook his head and looked at the staff.

"By golly, you're right!"

"Quick! The fountain!"

"Good idea!"

Cole ran to the fountain in the center of the village and stuck the staff in the water. Pale blue mist poured out of the water and flowed over the villagers, causing them to come back to reality. Kai walked to Sensei Wu, who had arrived in the confusion.

"We're sorry, Sensei," He said, "If we'd dealt with Lloyd before he became a problem, none of this would've been necessary."

"Even lessons learned the hard way are lessons learned," the sensei replied, then, thinking aloud, "A great evil has been released. I fear troubling times will come. This is only the beginning."

"Then, we will train," Zane said, as he and the other three walked over, "And we will be ready for the Serpentine."

"It may not be Lord Garmadon," Cole said, "but that doesn't mean we won't bring our A-game."

"Help us train. Help us realize our potential," Kai placed a hand on Sensei Wu's arm.

"Yeah," Jay said, "Teach us the secrets behind the weapons of Spinjitzu."

"There is much to teach," he said as they walked back to the dragons, "We must go back to the monastery."

Nya sighed, "When am I gonna get my own dragon?"

"Patience, Nya. Your time will come."

* * *

At the Ice Tomb, the snakes lounged in defeat, though, save the general and Skales, none seemed to notice a barely standing Lloyd and an irked Alexis.

"Candy," Lloyd moaned, "I need… candy!"

Alexis took off her beanie cap and stuffed in Lloyd's mouth, saying, "Quit whining, we got four bigger problems than having no goodies."

"The boy and girl set ussss free," Slithraa said looking at the lad and lass, "And I believe the girl hasss the Sssight."

"They are children!" Skales insisted, "They are not one of usss!"

Slithraa pushed Skales away in anger, "I may not have the sssstaff, but I am sssstill your general! Sssstand down!"

Skales walked away and was met by Mezmo.

"You coward," Mezmo hissed, "We all know he'ssss under Lloyd'ssss sssspell. You are second-in-command and still you do nothing?"

"Now was not the time," Skales explained, "I still hold the key to destroy the ninja. And when I do that, everyone will ssssee it is I who should be in control!"

He began laughing as he focused through the still-hypnotized black-ninja's eyes.

* * *

Later that night, as Sensei Wu was taking a midnight stroll around the monastery, he saw Zane coming toward him.

"Is something wrong, Zane?" the elder asked once Zane was arm's length away.

"Not with myself or the others," the white ninja explained, "But something has been troubling me about Lloyd's new friend."

"The Hypnobrai general or the girl?"

"Alexis. Nya said some scouts mistook her for a villager's child and tried to hypnotize her, only to no effect. Then, when I tried to stop them the first time, she seemed to have foreseen my intentions and saved Lloyd from my ice attack."

Both master and student were silent for a few minutes before Zane asked, "Sensei, is it possible that Alexis has a sixth sense like I do?"

The old man just looked at the ice master and said, "I do not know, I would have to meet her myself to find out. But if she does, she could be a problem for us as long as she is with Lloyd."

Zane nodded then asked, "Do you think there is any hope that Lloyd and Alexis would stop on their own."

"Could be," the mentor answered as they walked back to the building, "No one is _born_ evil, Zane and the days of children being required to follow in their parents' footsteps has long passed us. Perhaps if and when they realize the consequences of their actions they will see the light, and hopefully before there are any serious complications."


	2. Home

**Okay, I see my new story isn't very popular but please give it a chance. Truth is, I didn't like how Aniki turned out and everytime I tried to revise her, Alexis kept playing in my mind. So, long story short: I liked Alexis more and decided to put Aniki up for adoption. Spoiler alerts: (a) there is an added scene that's one of those "if this doesn't make you cry nothing will" and (b) I will be adding arthor's notes if I want to insert some music not part of the show.**

* * *

Sensei was in his room mediating in front of his spirit smoke, listening to Kai, Cole, and Jay play their video game again. These ninja never learn.

"My turn!" Kai yelled, "Ah, my turn!"

"Okay, you want a little more?!" Cole shouted, "Take this!"

Kai then shouted, "Yeah, how 'bout a little of this!"

"YAH!" Jay yelled.

"Monkey-paw to the head!" Kai cried.

"Ninja roll!" Cole called.

"Dragon punch!" Jay screamed

Sensei got up, put a flute away, and went to the video game room, only to see the ninja weren't there. When he entered to the courtyard, the man was surprised to see every ninja training. Jay was fending off arrows with his nun-chucks, Cole was dodging and hitting dummies, Kai was practicing his Spinjitzu, and Zane? Well… Zane was just meditating.

But then Zane got up and jumped around everywhere. Because of the white ninja, an arrow hit Jay's nun-chucks, Zane grabbed Cole's scythe and breaks a plank dummy, then he froze everything with Spinjitzu which made Kai lose his balance and fall on the ice. All of the ninjas walked toward each other.

"This roof isn't big enough for the four of us," Kai grumbled.

"Correction," Cole said, "This roof isn't big enough for _him_."

"It's like he's in his own world," Jay frowned, then directing his next words at Zane, yelled, "I bet he can't even hear us!"

The old man walked over to the three boys while Zane began throwing his shurikens around.

"Sensei, Zane's..." Kai paused to find the right words, "...weird."

"What is weird?" the elder asked, "Someone who is different or someone who is different than you?"

"No, Sensei," Cole explained, "He's 'weird, weird'."

* * *

 _Flashback:_

 _-Cole-_

 _Cole was in the bathroom, reading a newspaper while on the toilet. Then, Zane walked in and began combing his hair._

 _"Do you mind?" Cole yelled._

 _-Jay-_

 _Jay, Nya, and Zane were watching a romantic movie. At the sad part, Jay and Nya were crying and sniffling, Zane, however, was flat out laughing. His friends turned to him with confused expressions._

 _-Kai-_

 _Early in the morning, Kai, still in his pjs, yawned and stretched while heading to the fridge. He opened the fridge door, only to find it mostly empty, with a note stuck to the back._

 _'I'm sorry,' it read in Zane's handwriting, 'I consumed the last of the deli meat...cheese?'_

 _End Flashback._

* * *

The elder and ninjas watched as Zane bowed to a plank dummy, only for it to whack him on the head, which the former instantly rubbed.

"We like the guy," Kai assured their mentor, "He's really smart... he's just... a little off sometimes."

"Zane is a brother. And brothers are often different," their master said, then, thinking about his own sibling, added, "I should know."

* * *

Outside the monastery, a mailman was walking tiredly up the mountain it was on. He wiped the sweat off his brow and continued walking. When he reached the top, he took off his bag and rang the doorbell, which produced a gonging sound, causing the mailman to jump back in fear.

"Mail!" Kai, Jay, and Cole shouted.

They answered the door and the man gave them their mail.

"Hah... let's see," he said, "A letter from Jay's parents... Kai has a fan letter... Oh! Something from Cole's father..."

"What, no package?" Cole said, "I'm expecting something from _Creatures, Beasts, and Beyond_!"

"No, nothing from... ah... Ah-hah! Here it is!"

"Ha! Rocky's gonna love this!"

Jay and Kai opened their letters, then Jay looked up from the paper and noticed Zane walking around, a bit somber.

"Hey, Zane," he asked, "how come you never hear anything from your parents?"

"I don't remember my parents," Zane sadly explained, "I've been an orphan all of my life."

Kai and Jay exchanged looks and frowned.

"You mean you never had a home?" Kai asked.

Zane shook his head sadly.

"The monastery is your home now," Sensei Wu told him.

Zane just turned around and walked away and the others watched him leave.

(Line Break)

At the dragon stables, Cole was opening his package.

"Liver and toads, Rocky," Cole charmed, taking a dead toad out of the box, "Your favorite!"

He threw the animal to the panting dragon, which gleefully snapped it up and ate it in a few short seconds. Unfortunately for the two of them and the others, Cole still had not realized that he was hypnotized and that the snake responsible for this was watch everything through the black ninja's eyes.

* * *

In the Forest of Tranquility, all of the Hypnobrai were building a treehouse while Skales and a scout named Rattla chat at the top.

"I can't believe you hypnotizzzzed one of the ninja!" Rattla said excitedly, "Does the general know?"

"Of course not!" Skales responded impatiently, "He's still under the control of Lloyd and Alexis! And I plan to use it for my besssst interesssst."

Rattla looked behind Skales and walked away. Skales turned to see Slithraa.

"Everyone works while you do sssslack!" Slithraa hissed, "As my second-in-command, I expect _more_ from you, SSSSkales!"

"Yessss, General!" Skales bowed.

Slithraa turned around and began to slither away, but Skales spoke up.

"General, you know I am most loyal, but I must question thissss childish agenda! The ninja have sssstolen our staff, yet you insssstruct your army to build this _playhousssse for the children_? Snakesss don't belong in treessss, even the girl knowsss that."

"You know better than to question my judgment, SSSSkales! Esssspecially concssserning those with the Sight," Slithraa threatened, "I'll pretend you didn't ask!"

"Hey!"

The two Hypnobrai looked down. Lloyd was standing on one of the lower platforms, waving.

"If we plan to rule Ninjago from here, this elevator needs to have a trap door!" Lloyd yelled, " _I WANT MORE BOOBY TRAPS!"_

"As you wish, young Garmadon!" Slithraa bowed and gestured for Skales to start working on it.

"As _you_ wish... General," Skales growled as he bowed and walked away.

As he entered the next room, Skales bumped into Alexis.

"Hey, watch where ya going!" the girl snapped, then recognized him, "You're the number two guy? Here, read it and get everything on it."

She shoved a long piece of written paper in the snake's hands, causing him to get even angrier.

"And what, may I asssk, is all of thisss?" he growled.

Alexis sighed, put a hand to her head and gruffly explained, "Look, everyone knows that the ninja have magic weapons that could, oh I don't know, potentially destroy this place. So we need to get everything on this list and put them all in or on this fire hazard."

As she walked away, she added insult to injury in a snake-ish voice, "Or isss that too much ssstuff to do?"

That just made the second-in-command fume even more.

* * *

"Oh, I love it when it's Zane's night to cook!" Jay smiled.

"Hey, I didn't hear any complaints about my duck chowder last night!" Cole said.

"That's because it glued our mouths shut," Kai pointed out, "You really thought Jay was speechless all throughout dinner?"

"Yeah," Jay crossed his arms, "Please don't make that again."

"Dinner is served."

Zane set down their dinner and looked around the table. He was wearing a pink, flowered apron. Everyone's faces changed expressions rapidly before they burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Zane asked.

"Zane!" Nya laughed, "You're wearing a... Well, even I wouldn't wear that!"

Zane walked to another end of the table and asked, "You laugh because I take steps to ensure I am clean after cooking?"

"No," Kai assured him, "We laughed because you came out wearing that ridiculous outfit!"

"I guess we don't share the same sense of humor," Zane observed.

"Well, how 'bout this?" Cole picked up a plate from the table and mushed it in Kai's face.

Everyone except Zane and Kai started laughing again and Sensei got up from his seat and walked behind Cole and Kai.

"How could you not find that funny?" Cole asked before his teacher set a bowl upside-down on his black hair.

"Waah!" Cole's face grew shocked.

The bowl's contents dripped down his face and his master laughed.

"Now you are brothers," the ol man laughed as he put his hands on Zane's and Cole's shoulders and walked back to his seat.

Laughter rang around the table once again. The others began throwing food around the table while Zane watched in confusion, getting food suck to his apron and shirt.

* * *

Zane when outside to throw away the garbage, stripping off his apron and placing it into the can as well. He looked up at the stars, thinking about many things, mostly why he felt he was alone. Then, a falcon's cry broke his thoughts. He turned to a tree near him; the falcon sitting on one of the branches, looking directly at him. Zane tilted his head, and the falcon copied him. Zane shook his head, unsure if it had really done so. He looked back at the bird, only to see it shake its head as well.

He gaped at the bird, then smiled, flapped his arms and stepped up and down. It once again followed his movements exactly. Zane watched it for a moment before it hopped along the branch and took off. Zane looked inside the monastery for a second then followed the falcon and began to run down the mountain.

* * *

The bird led Zane through a forest, stopping every now and then to make sure he was following. Zane paused for a moment, then kept running, only to stop again and gasp. A brightly lit house-like building was in the process of being built in a tree. It seemed normal at first, then he took a closer look. The Serpentine were the ones working on it.

"If I see one girl except for Alexis in here," Lloyd warned from his perch atop a board of wood, "I'm gonna go ballistic."

Speaking of Alexis, Zane saw her coming close to him. At first, he thought she was just patrolling the outer edge of the area, but then after noticing her speed and directionality, he quickly realized that she was purposely coming his direction and would soon spot him if she hadn't already. Without a second thought, he quickly climbed a nearby tree and tried to use a branch as a hiding place. She came to his area and looked around, slightly confused.

"Weird, I thought… aw well," Alexis thought aloud before leaving.

When he was sure the coast was clear, he quickly climbed down and hid behind the truck. Then, the falcon cried again and Zane looked up. It motioned for him to go back and tell his friends.

"Thank you, my mysterious friend," Zane said to it.

* * *

The next day, Zane led Cole, Jay, and Kai through the forest, in the direction of the large tree house. Zane paused and looked around.

"Where are we going again?" Jay asked skeptically.

"I don't think Zane even knows where he's going?" Kai replied as they tried to catch up with the white ninja.

Once they found him, everyone except for Zane was a bit exhausted.

"So, tell us again how you stumbled upon Alexis and Lloyd's secret headquarters?" Kai asked Zane.

"I followed a bird," he answered.

"Why did you follow a bird?" Jay looked confused.

"Because it danced," was the reply.

"Oh, Okay," Jay looked at his friend strangely, then sarcastically asked, "Was it a cuckoo bird?"

Cole, Jay, and Kai started laughing while Zane looked at them, confused.

"Of course not," Zane answered, "Everyone knows cuckoo birds are not indigenous to these forests."

The others groaned as Zane began running again. The others shrugged and followed him, until they reached the clearing where the Serpentine were.

They heard Lloyd shout from the building, "No, bigger! Come on, we don't have all day! It's not time for a lunch break!"

Just below them, Alexis seemed to be inspecting some wood when a gang of ten snakes walked up to her saying, "Hey kid! Tell your boyfriend we demand maternity leave!"

"First of all, Lloyd's not my boyfriend," Alexis blandly stated, "Secondly, maternity leave, seriously? You do know you're all _guys_ , right? Do you all even know what maternity leave is?"

The gang dissolved and walked away as Alexis looked around before returning to the treehouse.

"Holy cannoli," Cole exclaimed, "Frosty was right!"

"We can't let those brats and those snakes get a foothold on Ninjago," Kai said, "We gotta destroy that thing before it becomes operational."

""Are you sure? It such a cool looking treehouse. It's got a ropes course, ooh! A tree swing…" Jay babbled.

"Hey! Remember whose side you're on!" Cole yelled, then turning to the others asked, "Alright guys, what do we do?"

"It looks like the entire place is being supported by those three trees," Kai observed, pointed to three large trees on different sides of the tree house, "Once those ropes are severed, the whole place is gonna fall like a house of cards."

"But why would one make a house of cards?" Zane asked, "Such construction would be careless."

"Oh brother," Kai sighed.

"Travel in shadows boys," Cole said.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Zane quickly added, "We must be extra careful, I think Alexis also has a sixth sense."

The other ninjas nodded in agreement and Cole flipped towards the treehouse, the others followed suit.

* * *

Kai flipped out from behind a tree, then took out his sword and sliced a rope, flinging himself onto the treehouse.

Cole grabbed onto the wood at the bottom of an elevator and clung to it as two Serpentine were raised up to the tree house.

Jay and Zane were climbing up a tree. Jay landed on a branch and almost lost his balance, but Zane grabbed his wrist and hauled him up.

All four ninjas peered through the walls as Lloyd and Alexis walked around a corner.

"It's almost finished," Lloyd laughed, " _Soon_ , my… I mean _our_ fortress will be complete."

"Still," Alexis murmured warily, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Seriously, Alexis, you need to relax."

"Yeah, well, in case anything bad happens, just remember: I told you so."

Lloyd brushed her comment off as the duo approached a Hypnobrai soldier.

"You!" He ordered the Serpentine, causing it to turned, "Hold up that sign!"

It complied, holding up a sign that said: _No Non-Alexis Girls, Ninja_

Lloyd then pulled a lever. The snake laughed until the floor under him gave way and it fell to the ground below, screaming the whole way down.

"Booby trap!" Lloyd yelled down the hole in the floor as Alexis snickered a bit.

The ninjas jumped up through the wooden beams and boards and leaped through the doorway at the top of the tree house. Kai climbed to the very top while Cole, Jay, and Zane ran along the three ropes connecting the tree house to the supporting trees.

"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" Jay spun into his tornado of blue lightning and severed the first rope.

"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" Zane whirled into his ice tornado and sliced the second rope.

The tree house began to fall apart. Boards and ropes crumbled and snapped. Debris fell everywhere. A few stories down, Lloyd looked up and spotted Kai through the wooden beams of the higher levels.

"I said no ninja!" Lloyd roared, "Attack!"

"Everyone!" Skales yelled, "Retreat!"

* * *

"Cole!" Kai shouted, "Wait 'til we're off the treehouse! Then cut the line!

Cole nodded and Skales looked up at the sound of Kai's voice. He recognized Cole as the ninja he had hypnotized at Jamonacai Village.

"You," he cried, capturing Cole's attention, "will obey my every command!"

Cole's eyes turned a deep shade of red.

He bowed to Skales and said, "I will obey your every command."

"Where's Cole?" Jay asked frantically as he and Zane jumped to the tree house roof.

"Oh, this whole place is coming down!" Kai yelled.

"Hyah!" With a flourish of his scythe, Cole leaped down from his perch on the tree and landed on the roof. "No one goes anywhere unless they deal with me!"

He advanced threateningly on Kai, Jay, and Zane who stepped back.

"He's been hypnotized!" Zane responded fearfully.

"Yeah, well, he'd better snap out of it quick!" Jay yelled, "Because this whole place looks like it's about to go down!"

* * *

"Don't go!" Lloyd begged the snakes, "We have to protect my treehouse fortress!"

Alexis put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder and stated, "There's nothing we can do. Forget this jenga tower! We can make another one!"

"Another treehousssse?" Skales hissed as he came behind them, "It'ssss about we did... thissss!"

"What?" Lloyd only had time to say before Skales pulled a lever and the floor under Lloyd and Alexis disappeared, forcing the children to fall into a cage a few yards under them.

They heard the stinging ring of Serpentine laughter in their ears as they fell.

Alexis opened her mouth to say something, only for Lloyd to glare at her and say, "Not. A. Word."

* * *

"Okay, now, come on," Jay said nervously, "Friends don't hit friends."

Cole promptly thrust his leg up, kicking Jay in the face.

"Ow! Oooh, okay, okay, I'm going to ignore that."

Cole then began jumping around the tiny platform, swinging his scythe around. He yelled and struck a board next to Kai's feet, knocking the wooden plank off.

"What are we supposed to do?" Kai asked, dodging Cole's hits, "If I use my sword, this place'll go up in flames faster than a tinderbox!"

"Isn't the anti-venom in the staff?" Zane queried.

"Yeah, but we left it back home!" Kai yelled.

Cole suddenly made a blow to his stomach, knocking him back. He landed on the pole-like corner of the roof, slid down it, and lay there for a moment, dazed. Then, the wood broke and he fell. Zane lunged out and grabbed him by the feet.

He swung Kai back up, saying, "Jay, use your lightning! Try to shock him out of his trance!"

Jay obeyed and took out his nun chucks. He began swinging them around.

"Oh, sorry, Cole! This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it's gonna hurt me!"

He sent a concentrated ball of electricity at Cole, who fell back and let go of hid scythe. The three hesitated as Cole struggled to get back up. Then, the black ninja opened and his eyes. They were just as red as before. Cole got up and rapidly ran to Jay. He picked him up by his shirt and threw him over the edge.

Two cries of "Jaaaay!" were heard. Jay, however, grabbed onto a dangling rope and swung on it. He landed on the outside of the broken tree house.

He then declared, "That is a serious safety hazard!"

Cole turned sharply and ran back up the last rope holding up the tree house. He raised his scythe, about to swing.

"No, Cole, don't!" Kai shouted.

"No! No, Cole, no!" Zane yelled.

Suddenly, the sweet music of a flute reached all of their ears. Cole hesitated for a moment, hearing the flute. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, they were back to their normal black.

"Wha...? Where am I? What are we doing?"

"We're getting' outta here," Nya shouted down, "'Cause this whole place is coming down!"

With that, Cole leaped from his ledge and landed right behind her. Jay, Kai, and Zane followed suit. The treehouse crumbled as soon as their feet left the wood. They all looked back and saw Lloyd and Alexis in a cage, being carried by a few of the snakes. Looked like the kids weren't in charge anymore, which was both a good and bad thing.

"That flute!" Jay remarked, "I cancels their power!"

"It's as old as the Serpentine themselves," their mentor explained before shouting, "But we must hurry! The monastery is unguarded!"

Flame got the message and started flapping harder and flew home faster, at least the humans hoped so.

* * *

They got back to the monastery, and it was in flames. Tongues of fire licked at the aged wood of the once-grand building, destroying it to ash.

"We're too late!" Kai shouted, "Those snakes!"

Below them, the three dragons that had been left behind roared and struggled in their stables.

Cole spotted his dragon, "Rocky!"

Flame touched down and everyone quickly got off. Cole hurried to his dragon. He pushed down on a lever and released all of them.

Kai looked up at the exposed inner wood of the monastery and pulled down his hood.

"Our home," he said.

"Shard!" Zane called to his dragon, "Put this out!"

Shard flew around the blazing structure and breathed ice and snow onto the flames.

"The training equipment," Zane murmured when Shard had completed his task, "Gone."

"Our video games," Jay cried hysterically, "Gone!"

"They stole back their staff," Sensei Wu looked around, tinges of anger in his voice.

"What do we do now?" Cole narrowed his eyes.

Rocky put his head closer to the ground and rubbed his muzzle against Cole's cheek. The black ninja sadly stroked Rocky's nose. Kai picked up a badly burnt chunk of brick and easily crushed it.

"If you hadn't followed that silly bird, none of this would've happened!" he accused Zane.

"Kai," Sensei warned.

"No! Sensei, he's right! " Jay stomped up to Zane, "Because of you, my high score's been deleted!"

"This is a teaching moment," Zane glanced down, "We must learn from this."

"A teaching moment?" Cole seemed outraged.

He put his face directly in front of Zane's and shouted, "What's wrong with you? Don't you get it? Everything is gone!"

"Enough!" their master ordered.

Everyone, including Nya, turned to him, "We are all at fault. Zane is your brother. Apologize at once."

Kai, Cole, and Jay lowered their heads in shame. They turned around.

"I'm sorry, Zane," Kai mumbled, "I…"

He broke off. Zane wasn't there. Everyone turned to the sky. Instead, he was flying away on Shard.

* * *

The Hypnobrai led Lloyd and Alexis, who now had a rope tied around their right hands, down an icy corridor.

"Do something, General," Lloyd whispered to Slithraa, "You-You're still under my command, right?"

Slithraa looked at the boy for a moment, Lloyd couldn't tell if he still controlled the general or not.

Fortunately for the children, either way the General wasn't about to let his subordinates make all the decisions and cried, "Enough! I am the general! You will return my staff at once!"

Skales looked at the staff and hissed, "No."

Muttering and mumbling broke out among the Hypnobrai.

"You dare challenge my command?" Slithraa demanded.

"Slitherpit... Slitherpit..." The Hypnobrai began chanting, "Slitherpit! Slitherpit!"

Skales smiled and nodded, "I guess we'll have to fight for it, in... the Slitherpit!"

Almost everyone began cheering. Lloyd just frowned and Alexis cringed.

* * *

Mezmo took the staff from Skales and carried it to a ledge above the others. Lloyd and Alexis were now tied to a stalagmite, the boy sighed and sat down while Alexis stood and glared at the sight.

"Winner gets the staff and leads the tribe!" Mezmo announced, "You know the rules: there are none! BUT whatever _I_ say goes!"

The general and Skales nodded, showing they understood.

"Alright," Mezmo shouted, "FIGHT!"

And thus, the fight began. The two circled each other before they engaged in hand to hand combat.

"TWO WEAPONS!" Mezmo announced.

He pulled a lever and ice weapons were lowered into the arena. The general took a sword and shield, Skales took a short spear and a dagger. Slithraa threw his sword to his opponent, who quickly dodged it; it struck the wall and caused some ice stalactites to fall and hit the general's shield.

Lloyd then looked to his side and noticed a scroll of paper sticking out. He stood and reached out for it, only coming a few inches short. He glanced at the fight, in which Skales seemed to be winning, and tried again, still coming up short.

"SIDE-WINDER!" Mezmo announced again, this time pulling a lever and caused the platform to tilt as the two moved.

Alexis quickly took notice and she too reached out and stretched her arm. Like Lloyd, whose fingers couldn't even brush up against the paper, she was just out of reach. That was when Lloyd saw it: the paper started wiggling out of the hold on its own before it flew into her hand and she grabbed it. It took two seconds for Lloyd to come back into reality and notice Alexis handing him the paper, mouthing the words "it's a map". Lloyd shook his head before taking the paper and tucking it into his back pocket.

"Go, General, go!" He cupped his untied hand around his mouth and shouted encouragement.

Slithraa's tail began rattling and red waves pulsed from his eyes. Skales looked taken aback. He spun around and kicked Slithraa in the face. He then threw a series of blows at the general, only to have them blocked. Suddenly, his entire body began to sway. He wriggled and moved. And he lunged, sharply kicked Slithraa in the chest, and bounced back. The general collapsed onto the ice floor.

"He used fang-kwon-do!" One of the crowd said in awe.

"Get up!" Lloyd yelled, "Get up!"

The general raised his head, then lowered it again.

"We have a winner!" Mezmo declared.

The judge handed Skales back the staff, and the snake's body began to change. Slithraa's did the same. Skales' legs disappeared and were replaced with a tail, while Slithraa did the complete opposite.

Cheers of "Skales!" rang around the room.

"You will be loyal to me, now!" Skales demanded to Slithraa.

"I... will do as you command," Slithraa said reluctantly.

"We're boned," Alexis muttered.

Lloyd just stared dejectedly, silently agreeing with the girl.

"You two!" Skales turned to Lloyd and Alexis, "Leave and never return!"

That made both kids cringe.

* * *

The remaining ninja, Nya, and Sensei Wu were now on a nearby mountain. Wisp, Rocky, Blast, and Flame wear huddled together only feet away. The group of five was all holding sticks with burning food on them over a fire.

"Wh-what are we eating again?" Kai asked.

"Mudnewt," Cole muttered, "Not bad for… something that lives underground."

"Wha...!" Jay threw his stick down and spat a mouthful of mudnewt bone into his hand, tossed the bone into a can, and yelled, "Yeah! New high sc-score!"

"Remember," their mentor reminded everyone, "We must be thankful for what we have."

"What do we have?" Cole asked. "Our home is gone."

"Y'know," Kai spoke up, "I don't miss our home. What I really miss is Zane."

"Yeah," Jay sighed, "I miss Zane!"

"Zane?" Nya was the one to speak this time.

"Yeah!" Jay shouted, "Zane! Y'know, white ninja? The smart, strange one?"

"No!" Nya pointed to behind them, "Zane!"

Everyone turned and saw that Zane was indeed walking towards the group.

"Zane!" The ninjas cried in unison.

The group gathered in a semicircle around him.

"We're so sorry for everything we said," Jay apologized, "We're a team, and that means we're all responsible!"

"You don't need to apologize to me," Zane smiled.

"But, what about all those awful things we said?" Kai asked, "Isn't that why you left?"

"Of course not. I saw the falcon again, and I followed him."

"That's our Zane," Cole said, making everyone chuckle a bit.

Everyone hugged the white ninja. Then, they released him.

Nya said, "We're happy to have you back."

"Why? Is it my turn to make dinner?"

They laughed; Zane was still the same Zane.

"Yes, Zane," Sensei Wu smiled gratefully, "We would love for you to make dinner."

"But I already made it," Zane turned around, "Come, I want to show you what I have found. I think you will all be pleased."

* * *

Miles away, Lloyd and Alexis made their way far into the desert, the setting sun was now their ally. Lloyd walked a few paces behind Alexis, something obviously bothering him. Eventually, he couldn't let the nagging issue eat at him anymore, he needed to talk to her.

"Alexis, stop," Lloyd commanded.

Alexis did stop as well as turned around with a shocked expression on her face and asking, "Did you just order me like I was a dog?"

"We need to talk," was all Lloyd said as he got closer to her.

"About what?" she demanded.

" _About what?_ " Lloyd echoed before becoming stern, "How about how you just magically got the map in your hands or how you 'happen' to know the white ninja's plan to spill our candy back in Jamonikai Village, for starters."

Alexis got worried, she had been hoping Lloyd wouldn't notice or wouldn't care. She felt the familar dread creeping into her soul again.

"Normal people don't do all that," Lloyd concluded, "Heck, I don't even think my dad or my uncle could do any of that and they're masters of werid and cool powers."

"Yeah well, no one ever said I was normal," Alexis answered, "And if you ever tell anyone I have powers, I'll hit you so hard in the mouth, it'll make every dentist in Ninjago rich!"

"I'll take my chances," Lloyd replied, not feeling threatened, "But, seriously, how the heck did you do all that?"

 **(Author's Note: better play "Binary Sunset" from A New Hope for this teary scene.)**

"I... I don't know," Alexis admitted, turning away and crossing her arms, "For as long as I can remember, I've always been like this. Sometimes if someone at the orphanage lost something, I knew _exactly_ where it was, even before that person knew it was gone. Sometimes I can see and hear what other people were thinking... you know, like everyone else's brain is a radio or TV broadcaster and mine's just picking up the signals. Sometimes, like with the map, when I really want something and I'm in the same room, I can just concentrate and that thing will fly into my hand. And every once in a while, I-I can see things happen before they even do."

"That's... really cool," was all Lloyd could say, utterly impressed and still in shock, before coming into reality and nicely asking, "Wait, how come you didn't say anything earlier."

Alexis turned her head, fighting the urge to cry, "Because you said it yourself, I'm the weird kid from a home for kids nobody wants. Compared to me, _you're_ completely normal. My parents... they probably had some major foresight and knew I was a freak, so... they just dumped me off and never came back. Oh, and don't get me started on all the flack I get from the other orphans."

"What about the adults in charge?" the boy inquired, starting to sound more concerned for her and less like a future dark lord, "Aren't they supposed to help you."

"They don't care, they just label me as a problem child and a trouble starter," Alexis responded with a hollow voice, "And I don't need powers to know what anyone would do to me if they knew about mine so, except you, no one knows about 'em."

Lloyd gave her a quick hug and then released.

"I don't why I did that," he stated.

"Well, thanks anyway," she replied.

"Partners?" Lloyd stretched out a hand, waiting for her to shake on it.

She spat in her hand and then shook Lloyd's.

"Partners."

* * *

After an hour or two trekking through the desert from their original camp, Zane stopped and turned around to face the team, a small smile plastered on his face.

"I can't explain it," he finally spoke, "But, I feel a strange connection with the falcon. I think he's trying to help show us the path we need to take."

Then, he led them around a corner. Sitting on the sand just a hundred or two yards away was a large ship, with a wooden dragon head on the front.

"Our new home."

His friends gasped at the magnificent sight.

"Do I smell pie?" Jay asked eagerly.

"Cobblerberry," Zane informed him, "Oh, and I made myrtleberry. And apple!"

Jay sniffed deeply and sighed. Then, he, Kai, Cole, and Nya ran to the ship, yelling and shouting happily. Zane and Sensei Wu stayed behind.

"I am proud of you, Zane," the elder stated, "One day, I promise. We will find your family."

"But... I've already found them."

"I feel there's more to you than meets the eye. There's something special about you, Zane."

"Sensei, will I become the Green Ninja?"

"It's too early to tell. But, if it's in your path, you'll know. Come, now. It would be a shame to let them eat all that pie."

And Sensei Wu and Zane began walking to the ship.

* * *

Laughter filled the dining room. All of the team were throwing food around and having a good time, even Zane, who apparently found his sense of humor. Unknown to any of the six at the table, Lloyd and Alexis were watching them from the outside, the map clutched in Lloyd's hand and a hurt look on his face; Alexis seemed unmoved by the sight... at least she did outwardly. Turning her attention to Lloyd, her expression changed into one of concern.

She gently tugged at one of his sleeves and said, "C'mon Lloyd, we can find a better hangout."

Lloyd growled as he and Alexis turned around and began to walk away.

* * *

 **Hope that got your attention. Please, read and review, seriously, I'm desperate! Oh and PS: except for a few characters, I am not counting Rebooted, Tournament, or the new season.**


	3. Snakebit

**I'm back! And I'm introducing a new character. Spoiler: This character is going to become very important to my story. Let the next chapter begin!**

 **000**

The next morning, the ninja were enjoying their rest as they slumbered in their new beds of their new home; that is, until _somebody_ forgot that teenagers thrive on sleep.

 _ **Gong! Gong! Gong!**_

"Evil doesn't sleep and neither should you!" their mentor announced, bang a gong he had found on the ship.

The four teens in the room groaned and pulled their blankets or pillows over their heads.

"If you want to reach your full potential, you must treat each day as an opportunity!" Sensei Wu told them as he finished up his gonging.

"Okay, okay, we're up," Kai said as he slid out of his bed and hopped to the floor, like the other three boys.

Kai walked to the window on the other side of the room and asked their mentor, "If you want us to reach our full potential, shouldn't we get a full night of rest?"

He pulled on the cord for the window blinds but they just fell to the floor.

Cole stretched and cracked his back, moaning, "You call that rest? I think my back has more lumps than the mattress!"

Jay walked to the sink and took out his toothbrush.

"We were up so late, talking about how cool it is to have a new headquarters, I guess we lost track of time," He was saying as he turned on the faucet.

Sand leaked out, instead of water, onto the toothpaste, but Jay was too busy talking to notice.

"Ever since the Serpentine burned down the monastery, I'm just glad we have a roof over our heads..."

He started to brush his teeth, but tasted the sand and immediately spat it out.

Zane, who was more awake than the others, turned to Sensei Wu and asked, "What is our lesson today, Sensei: Mastering the strike of the scorpion? Or perhaps the great… Oh!"

He crashed through the floor, sending up wood splinters and dust, making him cough. The other boys gathered in behind him.

"I think today's lesson will be... chores," the elder said.

" _ **Chores!?**_ " The four cried in unison.

"Ninja fight, Sensei," Cole protested, "They do not clean."

"In order to respect ourselves, we must respect our new home, and where we are from. And this place is a long way from becoming a ninja headquarters. I expect things to be spotless when I return," Sensei Wu turned to leave, but turned when he was in the doorway, added, "And put your backs into it."

 _ **Gong!**_

Cole helped Zane out of the hole in the floor.

"Ugh, this place is gonna take forever to clean and fix up," Kai groaned.

"Unless we put more than our backs into it," Jay suggested, a mischievous smile on his face, "Huh?"

All the ninjas smiled in realization.

(Line break)

"Ninjaaaaa-Go!"

Cole, now in uniform, began to whip around the room, picking everything up as he passed.

He spun out of the room and off the ship, and deposited the junk with a sign labeled: _**Garage Sale**_.

(Line break)

Kai kicked open a door and he and Zane jumped in. The two looked around, and then Zane took out his shurikens and threw them to the wall farthest from them. The shurikens stuck in the wood and ice formed around them, freezing the room in seconds. Kai pulled his sword from his back. The gold caught on fire and Kai touched the sword to the icy walls. The frost melted instantly.

The two ninjas yelled, "Ninjaaaaa-Go!" and spun around the room, melting the ice and cleaning up the room.

(Line break)

Jay walked up to a large sheet covering a wall of machinery. Cole and Kai sat behind him, working to fix a smaller machine. The blue ninja ripped off the sheet, then took his nun-chucks out and spun them around. He struck the giant machine with his nun-chucks, and it whirred to life. Lights turned on in every room. The two behind Jay noticed this and high-fived each other, apparently thinking they had turned the electricity on.

(Line break)

Out on the deck, Zane, Kai, and Cole were struggling to open the sails. Jay stood behind them, watching their progress.

"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" he yelled and spun into a tornado of blue electric energy and blew the all of the dust away.

(Line break)

Sensei Wu and Nya walked into the room that had the most noise coming from behind it. Four figures were in the room, playing their videogame.

"What took ya so long?" Kai turned away from the screen with a grin.

"Wow!" Nya marveled, "This place looks... amazing! You guys did all this?"

"Ninja don't just fight, Nya," Cole said, "We clean!"

"You have exceeded my expectations," Sensei Wu complimented, "But, can you keep it?"

Nya walked to one of the windows and looked out. A broken-looking car was driving its way towards the ship.

"It looks like we're about to have some visitors," she observed, "And loud ones at that!"

Jay turned to her with a frown on his face.

"Oh, it's my parents!" he moaned, then warned, "Please, if they start yapping, just don't get 'em going, okay, they don't know when to quit! And if you start talking, then they'll start talking, and suddenly, half the day is gone before you know it, and it's not even…"

"We get it! They talk a lot!" Kai interrupted and then muttered, "Cherry doesn't fall far from its blossom..."

Jay just stared at him blankly.

(Line break)

Outside, the car stopped in front of the ship, bumping into the junk pile Cole had put outside.

The driver said to the lady sitting next to him, "Take a note, Edna: either better brakes or a better bumper."

He looked to the front of the car and took off his cap and goggles.

"Oh! Would ya look at all this great stuff!" the man exclaimed, "They can't just get rid of it! Heh, we should've brought the trailer, Edna!"

Edna took off her cap as well and scolded him, "This ain't a flea market, Ed! We're here for Jay!"

Ed closed his eyes and put a hand to his ear asking, "What was that? Didja take the note?"

"I'm writing it down, Ed."

"Mom! Dad!" The two turned to the ship and saw a teenager dressed in blue was walking down a ramp on the side of it.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, hoping they didn't notice his _please don't embarrass me_ tone.

"Oh look, it's my baby boy!" Edna cried as she stood up, joy on her face, "It's been so long since we heard from you!"

"Ma, I called you two days ago!" Jay frowned.

The five others on the ship gathered behind him.

"Well, it's not soon enough, son!" Ed said as he and Edna got out of the car and walked to the lad, "When are ya coming out to the junkyard? Ya say you're comin' and… and ya don't."

" _Dad_ , do we have to talk about the junkyard in front of my friends?" Jay moaned, embarrassed.

"He hates when we tell people he was born in a junkyard," Edna smiled.

Just after they spoke, a someone yawned from behind the front seats, then a pair of arms stretched and pulled up a male figure just a year older than the ninjas with short, spiked up brown hair, light colored skin (an extreme rarity in Ninjago and often considered an indicator that there was something wrong with the individual) and dark colored clothes. The figure jumped out of the car, rubbing his eyes as he walked towards the older couple.

"Is this the trading post?" the newcomer asked in tired tone.

"Does this place _look_ like a trading post?" Cole asked gruffly.

Jay was a bit more concerned about something else, "Ah, Mom… Dad… who's this guy?"

"Oh, silly me, I almost forgot," Ed chuckled and then cleared his throat before saying, "Jay, this is… ah, this is… ah-ah…"

Ed started snapping his fingers, trying to remember what he wanted to say, but then gave the newcomer a defeated look.

"Glen Marcus," the figure introduced himself, holding out a hand to Jay.

Jay looked at the outstretched hand and then at its owner, not sure what to make of him.

"Yeah, that's it," Ed remembered, "Anyway, Edna and I saw him wandering the desert and agreed to drop him off at the nearest town, you know, after we stopped by here to…"

"Oh, okay," Jay paused him, looking a bit relieved, "No needed to explain."

Edna then spotted Nya and forgot all about Glen.

"Oooh, and who are you?" the woman asked, "You are so cute! You're just my son's type."

Jay groaned, " _Mom!_ "

"It's a pleasure meeting you," Nya said, "I'm sure if you want, Jay can give you the tour. He worked very hard on it."

"We'd love a tour!" Ed and Edna cried in unison.

Jay put a hand to his head and sighed.

(Line break)

After showing the lower deck, the nine entered the bridge. Jay had added more since the last time anyone had been in there, which was only yesterday.

"And this is the bridge," Jay announced as the group of nine stepped in.

"This extends into a periscope," He hopped to something sticking out of the ceiling and pulled it down, "This tells us what's going on in Ninjago."

"Remind me again, why you're hangin' out with our friend's parents?" Cole lightly interrogated Glen, ignoring the tour.

" _How many times do I to…_ " Glen angrily muttered under his breath, then explained in an upset tone, "I got on my way to a trading post I've never been to before and I was lucky the Walkers found me."

"Wait," Kai tried to suppress his laughter, "Jay's full name is 'Jay Walker'?"

"Anyways, why were you going to someplace you never been before?" Cole continued.

"I'm looking for someone," Glen glared, "Someone to help me."

"Help you do what?" Zane asked.

Glen stared at the white ninja and calmly answered, "That's none of your concern."

"No," came Jay's reply, bringing the others back to the tour, "A cappuccino machine."

He put a cup under the spout and pushed it down, making coffee come out.

"Amazing, son!" Ed smiled, "We're so proud of you."

"Why don'tcha tell 'em about the button?" Cole walked to a button on a pedestal and pointed it out.

"Heh-heh-heh," Jay pushed Cole's hand away and whispered, "It's not ready, yet."

"Oh, what's the button?" Edna looked excited.

"He's working on a special defense system," Zane said.

"Something every ninja headquarters needs," Kai added.

"A self-destruct switch?" Glen asked.

"NO!" Jay snapped; Glen backed away a bit.

"Really?" Ed walked to the pedestal, "What is it really? Oh, can I help?"

"No!" Jay pushed his father away gently, "It's okay! I don't need your help, Dad. Let's just leave it alone."

Then, he raised his wrist to his face and said, "Hey, look at the time!"

Glen raised an eyebrow. He was going with _that_?

"You need to get back before its dark," Jay continued, pushing his folks towards the entrance of the bridge, "I told you, there's dangerous Serpentine out there."

Ed sighed, "I... suppose we could get back. Hey Glen, you still wanna lift?"

"Thank you, no," Glen answered, "I think I'll be fine on my own from here."

"Really?" Kai raised an eyebrow, "The nearest town is like thirty mile from here."

"Oh, c'mon Glen," Edna put a hand on his shoulder, "At least let us take you to the junkyard. We can set up a cozy spot for ya 'till tomorrow."

"Oh, alright," Glen caved, though his face betrayed a feeling of regret.

"Edna, it was a pleasure hearing about Jay's first potty time," Cole smirked and walked over to them, putting a hand on Jay's shoulder.

"Oh, if you thought that was good, wait till you hear the story about the time I caught him kissing his pillow!" Edna replied as she reached up to pinch her son's cheek, but he pushed her hand away.

"Snakes, Ma!" he said, "Snakes!"

"Okay, we're going, we're going."

Glen, Ed, and Edna walked out the entrance, the rest of the group following.

(Line break)

Ed started up the engine for the car.

"So, you promise to come to the junkyard and visit your mother and father?" Edna asked quickly.

" _Yes, I promise_ ," Jay said exasperatedly, "But only if you leave. I don't want you to get hurt. It's getting dark. Ah... your headlights are working, right?"

Two intensely bright beams of light came from the front of the car, making everyone groan and cover their eyes.

"Eh heh," Ed leaned back against the leather upholstery. "Like 'em? I used a little extra juice!"

The lights flicked off and Ed pulled away saying, "Bye son! I couldn't be more proud!"

"And bring Nya, with you, will ya?" Edna turned and shouted to her son, "I can see why ya like her!"

" _Mom!_ " Jay moaned.

"Now that they have left," Sensei Wu said, turning to Jay, "perhaps Jay can teach us the art of... kissing pillows."

It was enough to make everyone but Jay laugh. He just groaned and walked onto the ship.

(Line break)

Ed and Edna sped along on the road. They were unusually quiet.

"I don't think he's coming, dear," Ed sighed, breaking the silence.

"Stop it, Ed," Edna smiled, "He's coming."

"Ah... he doesn't need us anymore. I just have to... remember that. Eh, write it down for me would ya?"

"Oh..." Edna cooed as she wrote down the new note.

Glen laid on his side, his back to the couple. The boy kept his thoughts silent, this was none of his business.

"Lights, dear. It's getting dark," He heard the woman say.

"Right!" The road in front of the car grew bright, "Thanks, sugarplum."

(Line break)

Deep in the woods a few miles away, Lloyd trampled through grass, dead, leaves and rocks, Alexis right behind him. He held an unrolled map in one hand, and a flashlight in the other. They came to a cemetery-like place and, without a second thought, walked through the entrance. Alexis sensed that Lloyd had conflicting feelings over what they were doing, not because of any moral judgement, but for the eeriness of their surroundings that gave them a sense of dreariness. Alexis felt a little nauseous, this place reeked of fear and dread.

"It's not scary," he mumbled, trying to make himself seem braver, "Um... maybe just a little... But, I like scary! Yeah... That's it... I'm the son of the Dark Lord! I love the dark!"

"Oh really?" Alexis sarcastically asked, seeing through the weak deception.

"Yeah," he answered, "Really."

As Lloyd talked, he walked deeper into the cemetery, turning around occasionally.

"Why, I eat this stuff for breakfast!"

Something snapped. Lloyd looked up and yelled. He jumped behind Alexis, frantically shining his flashlight in front of them, and felt his heart calm down. It was just a tree, nothing else.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say your mother wasn't a Dark Lady," Alexis commented, though she too shared his fears.

Lloyd ignored her and resumed his walking.

"Remind me again why we're here in the first place?"

"We're gonna make those Hypnobrai pay for betraying us. We have to find the Fangpyres."

"Why the heck do you think they would help us?"

"Because if there's anything a snake doesn't like, it's another snake. Hey, you think you could use your powers and find the entrance to their tomb?"

"I don't know, _can I?_ "

"You can't?"

"'Course I can, I just didn't like that you assumed I could. Stand back and shut up."

 **(Author's Notes: Cue the first 34 seconds of "Tales of a Jedi Knight" from** **A New Hope** **, it's the piece where Old Ben reveals he's a Jedi and Luke's dad was too)**

Alexis closed her eyes, letting her powers find what she was looking for. The world around her seemed to hum and vibrate as she started walking slowly, following a particularly strong and dark vibration, similar to the one the last Serpentine tribe gave off. She stopped in front of a giant twisted and warped tree growing from a strange circle of stone in the center of the cemetery.

 **(A/N: end music)**

"Here! By the mutated tree! I found it!"

Lloyd ran up to where she was pointing, knelt down and swiped his hand through the dust and mist, waving it away. The mist cleared, revealing a stone floor with many designs, the largest being a snake with two heads.

"Soon, the Serpentine will know who their master is!" he said, "And it will be I, Lloyd Garmadon! ..."

Thunder rumbled the entire place, and the twosome cowered and screamed. They opened their eyes and Lloyd pushed a button on the floor. The double-headed snake design fell into the floor, and many red and white things popped out. Lloyd yelled for the third time and tried swatting them away, with Alexis pressing herself against his back, covering her head. The flashlight went out. Hissing rang in the children's ears and they turned around sharply. A two-headed Serpentine holding a golden staff like Skales' own hissed and shook his head.

"And who…" the first head said.

"…May I say released us…" the second said.

"…From our captivity?" the first finished.

Lloyd cowered yet again and said, "Ll-Lloyd...

Alexis gulped and added, "A-Alexis…"

Lloyd summoned up whatever courage he had and started talking turkey, "We r-released you to make the Hypnobrai pay for betraying us."

He picked up the map and held it up so the snake could see it.

"Hypnobrai?" the second mused.

"Those hypnotizing deceivers," the first hissed.

"It will be…"

"…Our pleasure!"

"Oh... good!" Alexis smiled weakly, all traces of fear dissolving now that everything was going good, "We'll lead the way. And after that, there's some ninja we need dealt with."

"Sounds like…" the first head murmured.

"You two know…"

"…What you want!"

"But, the Hypnobrai are strong…"

"… And we are few in numbers."

"We need…"

"…Reinforcements!"

"What'd you have in mind?" Lloyd asked.

The snake heads hissed gleefully.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Alexis whispered into her partner's ear.

Lloyd whispered back, "You and me both."

(Line break)

Ed and Edna pulled up to their junkyard, which was named _Ed and Edna's Scrap 'n Junk_ though the second "s" temporarily shorted out. Ed parked the car next to their trailer and turned on the lights.

"Home sweet home," Ed said as he and Edna pulled off their caps.

They and Glen climbed out of the car and Ed picked up a toolbox, walking to a large robot-like machine.

"And, back to the grind," the older male added.

"Oh sweetie, you've been working on that thing day and night!"

"Well, ya never know when Jay may show up!"

"Oh, you're right. Ya never know!"

Edna walked into the trailer and Ed began working on the robot, Glen following her. She opened the door of the trailer, revealing the inside of a standard trailer set up: a small living room with a secondhand couch and small foldable chair at the entrance, a good sided kitchenette in the middle with a sink overflowing with dirty pots, pans, and dishes, and "master suite" consisting of an old queen sized bed squeezing against a 2 by 4 foot bathroom at the back end. Edna went to the bed, picked up a blanket, walked back to the couch and spread the blanket across it, fluffing a pillow laying against one of the arms.

Glen could stay silent no longer, "Um, Mrs. Walker… I know you and your husband are trying to be nice and you're both good people… but I… I… I just feel like I'd be taking advantage of your hospitality and…"

"Oh, don't be silly," the elder woman dismissed, her smile forever on her face, "We love helping people. And it's only for one night."

Glen got tense for a moment then said, "I… Is it… I mean, would it be alright if I take a late night stroll before bed? It's been a very stressful week for me."

"Oh, of course ya can," the lady confirmed, "Ooh, ya want somethin' to eat before you sleep."

"No, that's okay," Glen replied as he exited, "Th-thank you for-for everything."

 **(A/N: start playing the first 25 seconds of** _ **The Tusken Camp/The Homestead**_ **from "Attack of the Clones")**

Glen came outside, quickly and quietly made his way to back end of the junkyard, careful not to step on anything sharp. He looked left then right, that was when something caught his attention. The young man slowly walked up to a broken piece of machinery, trying and slowly failing to keep itself going. It took only seconds for Glen to come to the horrible realization that this was a power generator and soon the couple would lose it.

"I gotta warn…" Glen never got the chance to finish after a rock made a _thud_ sound against his head, knocking him out.

Up on a large pile just behind Glen, two children (Lloyd and Alexis) looked down at the fallen figure.

"Nice throw," Lloyd said to his female companion, making her smirk a bit.

000

Suddenly, Ed heard something whistle past him. He stopped welding the metal and pushed up his mask.

"Uh, Edna?!" he called to his wife, "Was that you?!"

Edna opened the trailer door and shouted, "What, Ed?! Are you hearing things again?!"

"You turned on the security alarm before ya left, didn'tcha, Hon?!" Ed asked as he became worried.

Edna frowned and walked to the power grid. She flicked on a few buttons but nothing happened.

"Must be broken!" she called back.

And everything turned off. The entire junkyard went dark.

"Whoever's there," Ed warned and then cupped his hands around his mouth, "My son knows Spinjitzu!"

Something hissed behind one of the junk piles and a shadow appeared on the wall behind it.

Ed dropped his things and ran to Edna, who cried, "What is it? Why are the lights out? And Glen's gone missin'!"

"Call Jay, Hon!" Ed said frantically, "Someone's broken in!"

"How 'bout we wait 'til he calls you!" The couple turned and looked up to the voice of a young boy.

Said small boy dressed in black on the roof held up their phone, the twisted cord split. A double-headed, red snake holding a golden staff stood next to him on one side and a girl in purple on the other.

"Oh wait, you can't," the girl smirked, "You've been disconnected."

"Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha!" The boy laughed.

"Ed!" Edna cried worriedly.

"Be strong, Edna!" Ed held her close, "I won't let them hurt you!"

"If we plan…" the first head said to the children.

"…To attack…" the second head continued.

"…The Hypnobrai…"

"…We must grow…"

"…Our army!"

"And, uh, how do we do that?" the girl nervously asked the snake.

"Let's just say..."

The snake's four white eyes glittered evilly.

"…We Fangpyre bite off more…"

"…Than we can chew."

"Have at it boys!" The first head yelled.

With vicious hisses, more red and white snakes, this time with legs, poured out from behind the junk piles. They crawled onto various broken vehicles and sank their over-sized fangs into the metal. Green venom spread from the puncture marks, and with many blasts of venomous smoke, the vehicles became alive, with fangs, eyes, and tails.

"My creations," Ed gasped, "They're turning them into…"

" _An army_?" the first head finished, having come down from his perch while the couple watched the lower ranking snakes do their dirty work.

The couple gasped and turned again.

"You are correct," the second head said, "But we can also…Turn people, too."

Ed and Edna held each other in fear as Fangtom drew his fangs nearer and nearer.

(Line break)

Back on the ship, Jay was working on the button.

"Sure got a lotta _junk_ piling up," Kai said as he and Zane walked past Jay, "If _only_ there was a place where we could get rid of it."

"If you don't mind, I'm trying to focus," Jay snapped.

"Hi, Mom and Dad," Cole spoke behind Jay, holding a phone to his ear, "Of course, _I'd love_ to visit, what kind of son would _I_ be if I didn't want…"

Jay interrupted him, "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha. I know what you're trying to do."

He stood up and faced the threesome, "Okay, okay, look, I _might_ have promised to visit my parents but, there's a lot of stuff on my plate!"

Nya suddenly opened the door to the bridge and walked through it.

Jay noticed her, then wiped the oil and grease off his face and said shyly, "H-hi, Nya."

"Hey Jay. You gonna visit your parents today?" Nya asked as she stopped walking by the ninjas.

"Oh! Uh, s-sure am!" Jay stuttered, "Just about to leave!"

"Okay, tell them I said hi!" Nya requested and left.

Kai, Zane, and Cole gave Jay a look. Of course he would do _anything_ for Nya.

"What?" Jay spread his arms, "So my plate's not _that_ full."

"I'm actually a little more concerned that knowing Glen is with your parents isn't your motivation," Zane interjected, "For all we know Glen may be planning to do something very… unkind."

"Yeah Dude," Cole agreed, "Haven't you seen every horror movie _ever_?! The baddie's always the quiet, clean-cut stranger when it ain't the butler, handyman, or the old dude."

Jay chuckled nervously before quickly leaving the bridge with an unconvincing "yeah right."

(Line break)

Jay tugged on Wisp's chains, "Agh... uhn... come on, Wisp! It'll be a quick visit!"

But the dragon refused, looking a bit under the weather.

Jay noticed and ceased tugging, saying, "Just in and out, nothing more."

Then Sensei Wu walked up to Jay, holding a large thermometer in his hands.

"Hmm... It's just as I suspected. The dragons are molting," the old man was saying, making Jay drop Wisp's chains, "They are shedding their scales."

"What does that mean?" Jay asked.

"Every adolescent dragon goes through a transformation before it becomes an adult..."

Wisp snorted in agreement.

"…We must allow them to migrate east to the Spirit Coves, for their transformation," Sensei Wu continued, as the rest of the ninjas, and Nya came over to the two, having heard part of the conversation.

"Will we see them again?" Jay asked.

"It is hard to say," the elder answered and looked up at Wisp, "But we need to allow them to follow their path."

"Rocky's going east?" Cole asked; he stopped walking and let the other four keep going, then walked to his dragon.

He hugged the dragon's muzzle and begged, "Say it isn't so, Rocky."

Zane fondly patted Shard's nose. Kai and Nya walked to Flame, petting him fondly and sadly.

"Well…" Jay rubbed the back of his head and came to Nya, "I guess I gotta go on this long walk all by myself. Sure would be nice to have company."

Nya nodded.

"Of course we'll go, buddy!" Kai looked over Flame's muzzle.

"I could use a break!" Cole joined them.

"All you had to do was ask," Zane smiled.

Jay, for the second time in as many days, put a hand to his head and sighed.

(Line break)

After dropping the group off, Flame, Wisp, Shard, and Rocky flew past the group of six trudging along the road. Sensei Wu was playing his flute; Cole looked up at the rapidly fading shapes of their dragons and frowned. He had finally gotten over his fear of them and made a close bond with Rocky, losing him was the hardest thing he had ever done.

"Hah..." Jay sighed, "Of all the days to lose our ride."

"At least they got us halfway," Kai shrugged.

"That flute," Zane interjected as he appeared at the old man's side, "You never told us why it's so special."

The sensei stopped playing and lectured, "Long ago, there were many flutes, created to combat the powers of the Serpentine and drive them underground. But, over time, Ninjago's forgotten its ancestors' wisdom..."

As he spoke, two birds flew above the six.

"…And now, this is the only one."

Suddenly, Sensei Wu whipped around and began playing it again, startling Jay for a moment. The two birds landed on a nearby rock.

"I get the lesson," the blue ninja said, brushing past him, "Respect your elders or suffer the consequences. Boy, you guys are layin' it on thick."

Sensei Wu chuckled, "Perhaps you are only hearing what you need to hear."

Jay stopped walking. In front of him, the entrance to Ed and Edna's Scrap 'n Junk stood dimly. But something was wrong, very wrong. Most people wouldn't notice but Jay lived here most of his life, he _knew_ something was up.

"What is it?" Nya asked and halted beside Jay.

"It's quiet..." Jay pulled on his hood, "My family's never quiet!"

He began running to the junkyard, everyone following him.

They gathered in a little section of the junkyard where the ground wasn't covered in junk. The six were absolutely silent. Jay heard faint muffled sounds coming from... the broken down fridge! The blue ninja ran to said fridge and kicked upward at the metal pole blocking the door and opened it. Inside, his parents were chained and duct-taped.

"What happened?" Jay asked frantically, "Did Glen do this?"

He took the tape off his mother's mouth. Small fangs protruded from her gums.

"Oh sssssweetheart," Edna smiled, "Ya came!"

Jay then took the tape from his father, who also had little fangs.

"Oh, ya gotta get outta here!" Ed warned, "It's the sssssnakes!"

"The bite of the Fangpyre!" Sensei Wu exclaimed, "Once they sink their teeth, their venom can turn anything into a Serpentine!"

Ed and Edna hopped out of the fridge.

The elder then added, "It's only a matter of time before the full transformation is complete!"

Ed and his wife looked behind them, both feeling a tail trying to pop out.

A sharp hissing sound suddenly rang in everyone's ears. They turned to see a large wrecking ball... with a snake-like face. The Fangpyre were walking by it, letting out hisses of glee. The ninjas got into their fighting positions.

"Uh, is that wrecking-ball staring at me?" the black ninja asked.

The wrecking ball promptly swung around, headed straight for the eight humans.

"Duck!" Jay yelled.

He pushed his parents out of the way as everyone else dove in different directions. A large cloud of dust came up at the wrecking ball hit the ground.

"Thanksssss, son," Ed said when the dust had cleared.

"Lloyd!" Sensei Wu exclaimed.

Everyone turned around at the sound of the boy's name. They looked up and saw him smiling evilly and standing next to a two-headed snake and a girl in purple.

"Hello, Uncle," Lloyd sneered, "Looks like we're not the only family reunion. I'm glad you brought the ninja. We could use some help _taking out the trash_."

"Good thing this place is a dump," Alexis looked at him, "Cuz that joke stunk."

He looked back at her and grumbled, "Way to kill the moment, Alexis."

"If we want to turn your parents back," Nya said to Jay, "we need the anti-venom from the staff!"

The wrecking ball swung around again.

"Second dose!" Cole yelled, "To the dirt!"

They scattered again.

"Easier said than done, sis," Kai said, putting a hand on his sword, "We're a bit outnumbered."

The red ninja took his sword out.

"Nobody messes with my family!" Jay took out his nun-chucks and rushed towards one of the Fangpyre.

He leaped in the air and brought the nun-chucks down, forcing the snakes back a bit.

"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" Jay spun into his lightning tornado and rammed into the Fangpyre, blowing them away.

The wrecking ball once again came towards him, but the ninja ducked under it and kept going.

Three more cries of "Ninjaaaaa-Go!" were heard as the wrecking ball got caught in a pile of junk. Kai, Cole, and Zane scattered the Fangpyre like Jay had done.

Nya kept the Serpentine away from Sensei Wu, who was playing the flute and causing the Fangpyre to halt and cover their ears in pain. Nya was fighting much like the ninja, but with a few of her own moves.

"How'd it go, Sensei?" Nya asked, running toward the old man, "I think we make a pretty good duet."

A sudden blast of rock music caused the three to look up. Alexis was now standing next to a boom-box, which drowned out the flute with the volume of the music.

"Young nephew and lady!" Sensei Wu yelled, pointing his walking stick at the two, "Must I teach you whose side you two should be on?!"

Lloyd just turned up the volume even more, and yelled back, "Sorry, Uncle! Can't hear you!"

Unbeknownst to the two, a Fangpyre quietly crept up to the elder. _Clang!_ The snake was knocked out by a frying pan wielded by Edna.

"Ha!" Ed shouted, "Way to go, Edna!"

"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" The four ninjas cried as they whirled into their tornadoes and scared off a little group of Serpentine behind a junk pile.

While the ninjas followed them, the snakes jumped onto a large robot and sank their fangs into the metal. As quickly as the ninjas turned the corner, they stopped. A large rumbling shook their feet. They looked up, just as a large, green robot appeared behind the junk pile. Its ruby eyes glowed menacingly.

"Gah!" Jay raised his nun-chucks, "What is that thing?"

"It was, uh, supposed to be in your honor, son," Ed fiddled with his hands, "Uh, do ya like it?"

The robot lurched forward.

"Thanks!" Jay yelled, "But, no thanks!"

The four turned and ran as the robot swung its log-nun-chucks down, sending up a dust cloud. They looked back, and then saw where they were running. The wrecking ball had gotten out of the junk pile and now looked at them; a glowing green, venomous aura surrounded it.

"Oh, why'd you have to be born in a junkyard?" Cole shouted.

"I know!" Jay replied, "Tell me about it!"

The wrecking ball swung towards them yet again. Three shapes flew out of the dust and landed safely on the ground.

Kai looked around and commented, "Uh, wasn't there four of us?"

Jay was busy swinging on the wrecking ball. He stood on the ball of metal, then jumped in a graceful arc and landed on the roof of the control area. He swung down and kicked out the Fangpyre who was controlling it, then took hold of the joysticks. He looked down and scratched his head. A snake face with yellow eyes hissed at him.

"Let's see if I can work this," Jay said as he began to control the wrecking ball.

Cole blocked a blow from the robot with his scythe.

"Don't worry! I've got it!" He yelled as he struggled to keep his scythe up.

Jay suddenly swung the wrecking ball at the robot. It flew into the walking metal, which crashed in another pile of junk. He then got down from the machine and joined the other ninjas.

"I told you I had it!" Cole said, irritated.

Lloyd peered down at the downed robot, and then at the ninjas, who took out their weapons and brandished them threateningly.

"Retreat!" he yelled.

A Rattle-copter flew up to the boy and the double-headed snake. All the Fangpyre and mutated machines ran or hopped away.

"He's getting away with the staff!" Nya cried.

"Right now would be a good time to have those dragons," Jay sighed.

"Eh... eh..." Ed panted as he put a hand on his son's shoulder, turning green, "Eh... It'sssss okay, ssssson."

"There is still a way," Sensei Wu said.

"How?" Jay asked.

"Part of reaching your own full potential is understanding your weapons' potential! Once it is in tune with the focused heart, its secrets and powers can be unlocked."

"Oh! This is not the time to be cryptic!" Jay snapped.

"He's saying our weapons are vehicles themselves," Zane translated.

"Don't tell me I have to ride this like a broomstick," Kai frowned, looking down at his sword.

"Jay, concentrate on unlocking your Golden Weapon. Let your heart guide you!" the sensei explained quickly, "Imagine you're taking flight."

Jay looked down at his nun-chucks. He closed his eyes, then began swing the nun-chucks around. Lightning flashed down, and the ninja was engulfed in a pale blue bubble. Everything went white for a moment, and then it just as quickly disappeared. In place of the bubble was a blue and silver jet.

"Whoa!" Jay yelled, "Ha-hah! Did I just do that?"

Kai looked at his sword, then closed his eyes and began swinging it around. Flames spread along the length of the sword and Kai threw it into the air. He rose on a small hill of earth and there was an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Kai was sitting on a large motorcycle-type vehicle.

Zane lashed out into thin air with his shuriken. The small pieces of metal shot out ice that formed around Zane, making a similar shape to Kai's motorcycle. The ice glowed, and with the rev of an engine, it broke away. Zane now sat on his own snowmobile.

Cole whipped his scythe around him. The scythe rose into the air and tendrils of rocks swirled around Cole and his weapon. A large hill of dirt covered the two and with a flash of golden light, Cole's scythe transformed into his vehicle: a high-tech cross between an ATV and a race car.

"Ha!" he shouted, "I'd hate to hurt Rocky's feelings, but I think he's just been replaced!"

Ed, Edna, Sensei Wu, and Nya watched in awe as the four took off on their vehicles, leaving them behind.

"Does your flute turn into anything?" Nya asked the old man.

The elder looked at his flute and deadpanned, "I wish."

(Line break)

Something blue shot past the Rattle-copter carrying Lloyd, Alexis, and Fangtom.

"Whoa! What the heck was that?!" Lloyd cried.

"Ninja," Alexis answered.

000

"Whoops!" Jay chuckled, "Overshot that a little."

He turned around and headed for the Rattle-copter again.

He lined up the Rattle-copter with the center of the screen and said, "Let's see what this baby can do."

He pressed a button and the jet began to bounce out of control. Fangtom, Alexis, and Lloyd ducked as the jet hurtled over them. Fangtom shook it off, and then looked at his hand.

"The staff!" his second head yelled.

000

"I got it?" Jay looked at the staff in a daze, "Ha! I got it! Ha-ha-ha!"

Suddenly, the jet gave a mighty shake and transformed back into nun-chucks. With an "Uh-oh." and a yell, Jay began to fall towards the sandy ground.

"Jay! You have to concentrate!" Kai shouted.

" _I caaaaan't_!" Jay shouted back.

"I think we're gonna have to catch him," Cole said, "I got him."

"No, I got him!" Kai swerved.

"He's mine!" Zane zoomed ahead.

The vehicles all collided and disappeared, sending the ninjas up into the air.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!" Jay then landed in his parents' car.

He tumbled into a seat next to Nya, who was sitting next to the driver: Glen. Behind them sat his teacher and his parents, the latter two now completely green, scaly, and equipped with tails.

Getting over a mild panic episode, Jay exploded at Glen, "You! Where were you when all this happened?!"

"Sightseeing," Glen sarcastically said before explaining, "Looking for you and your pals after those walking snakes knocked me out. But by the time I got to your ship, you were gone."

"Glen's been up all night," Nya corroborated, "And he's a surprisingly good driver at high speeds."

"Oh, Ehe-he..." Jay said nervously, "Nice catch."

"Ooh," Edna said, "I knew I liked thisssssh boy."

"Everyone…" Fangtom's second head shouted to his army.

"… Attack!" yelled his first head.

With loud revs and angry hissing, the mutated vehicles and Fangpyre surged forward. Zane, Kai, and Cole picked up their weapons, but nothing happened. Kai shook his sword as the car stopped behind the ninjas.

"Why isn't it working?" he shrieked.

"Your weapon is merely an extension of your mind!" Sensei Wu called from the car, "If your mind is immobile, so is your weapon."

"Oh boy," Ed hissed, "Oh gosssssh, oh golly, oh darn. Get in boysssssh!"

"We need to get back to headquarters!" Jay told Glen as the three other ninjas climbed aboard the car.

He nodded and slammed his foot on the accelerator, the Fangpyre in pursuit.

"Look!" Lloyd yelled, "They're getting away!"

"Move it or lose it, weirdos!" Alexis ordered.

(Line break)

The ninjas, Sensei Wu, Nya, Glen, Ed, and Edna ran up the ship's ramp.

"Come with me," Nya said to Ed and Edna, "Once we reverse the venom, we can fix you."

The three ran into a lower room while the ninjas, Glen, and Sensei Wu ran into the bridge.

"Man your stations!" Jay ordered, "Everyone!"

He ran to the button. Kai and Glen looked out a window. The Fangpyre were getting rapidly closer.

"Here they come!" Glen warned.

"Jay! We better hurry!" Kai called.

"I've been waiting for this moment," Jay said as he rubbed his hands, then he slammed his hand down on the button but nothing happened.

The other three ninja looked around.

Glen yelled, "They're gaining on us!"

(Line break)

Ed and Edna each took a cup held out by Nya.

"Bottomsssssh up," Ed said before downing the anti-venom.

A pale golden light shimmered over the couple, turning them back to normal.

(Line break)

"Agh!" Jay groaned, repeatedly hitting the pedestal over and over again, "I don't get what's wrong! I spent forever on this, it's supposed to work!"

Ed walked up behind him and said, "Ah, son? Maybe I can help."

"Dad!" Jay exclaimed, "Y-you're okay!"

"Heh, darn tootin'," his father replied, bending over and working on some of the wires.

"Oh, let's have a look... Ah-hah!" Ed stood up after a few seconds, "That should do it! Now try it!"

Jay nodded and pushed the button. Everyone heard a loud whistling sound. The ship shook and the roar of a rocket reached her ears. Glen stumbled forward into Nya as the ship somehow flew into the sky.

"No! No! No!" Lloyd cried, only to choke on the ship's exhaust fumes.

Nya stumbled as well and accidentally let go of the staff. It bounced out the room and over the ship's railing and conked a Fangpyre on the ground below. With another roar, the ship blasted off. The Rattle-copter flew low to the ground and Fangtom picked up the staff from where it had fallen.

"These ninja…" Fangtom's second head hissed.

"…They must be stopped!" the first finished.

"Oh, you have no idea," Alexis stated.

Lloyd shook his head, "Tell me about it..."

(Line break)

The ninjas' ship, the _Destiny's Bounty_ , flew gracefully over the clouds.

"We'll get you back to the junkyard just as soon as the coast is clear," Jay told his parents as they entered the deck, "But... stay as long as you like. It's nice, having you here."

"Oh, take a note, Edna," Ed said, putting his arm around Jay's shoulders, "Of all our inventions, this one is our greatest."

Edna threw her notepad behind her and replied, "I already know, dear."

The family then hugged. The old man watched them from a distance then looked at Glen who was leaning over on the railings, watching the sunset.

The old man walked up to the lad, saying, "I must thank you for your help. If you hadn't, I would have only three ninjas as of today."

"Just wish I could've come here sooner, could've saved you all a lot of trouble," Glen replied, not looking at the elder, sighed and added, "I'm not going back to the Walker's junkyard. Not that I'm ungrateful for all they've done, it's just… I don't want to take advantage of their kindness."

Wu raised an eyebrow and commented, "I take it you don't have much experience of others offering you a helping hand."

"Usually get the opposite. Or have to repay it."

The old man was silent for a moment before saying, "Zane said you were looking for someone to help you with something."

Glen just looked at the man, sighed and replied, "Yes, I… had a master… of sorts. He's gone and last I heard, someone similar to my old master was residing at the desert trading post. If you could get me there, I'd appreciate it."

"We could," the elder smiled, "Or, you could stay here and train with the other ninja."

Glen's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as his mouth dropped. He shook his head and tried to protest, but the older man stopped him,

"Listen, Glen, I know we aren't your first choice, but the 'snake people', the serpentine, are very dangerous and are currently being led by two children, one who may have a sixth sense and the other who is desperately trying to be like his father. They do not understand the damage they are knowingly and unknowingly causing. They must be stopped and we could use all the help we can find."

Glen looked away for a moment, breathing deeply, letting the elder's words sink in, "Alright, I'll help."

000

 **And scene. Well, what do ya think? Comment, review, analyze, or whatever me and sooner or later (hopefully not too later) read the next chapter.**


	4. Never Trust a Snake part 1

**Announcement: To one and all and all and one (kinda redundant don't you think?), I have a new job so, my posting is going to be even less so than it usually is AND I lost my travel-drive with ALL my fanfics and other stuff so I'm sacrificing most of my stories to adoption. If you see "UP FOR ADOPTION" on the summary, please PM me for details.**

 **I own nothing both tweaks, seriously, the fortune cookie is from** **Jean-Jacques Rousseau; Now, on with the show, or at least part one:**

* * *

 _A dark shape flew by in the desert. It landed on a telephone wire by the road, now a falcon, scaring away some birds, and then looked directly at Zane._

 _"Wake up, Zane," it said in a deep voice, "I know where you come from."_

* * *

 _Zane quickly lifted his head up, waking, and smashed it on the bottom of Kai's bed. With a gasp and a groan, he rolled out of his bed. He looked out window and smile, the falcon was out there. He noticed that the other boys were not in their beds. Checking Glen's room across the hall, Zane noticed he wasn't there either._

 _Zane opened the door the bridge and walked in._

 _"The hunt starts early today," he remarked._

 _"A watchful eye never sleeps," Sensei Wu looked up from a map._

 _"As long as Lloyd, Alexis, and the Serpentine roam freely," Nya said, "no one in Ninjago is safe."_

 _"Where are the others?" Zane asked._

 _"Training on the upper deck," the old man answered._

 _Zane walked out of the bridge and to the upper deck, only to find it empty. He noticed the swirling clouds around the ship, meaning they were flying. A cawing sound caused him to look up, though. The falcon was sitting on the top of the mast._

 _"You were in my dream, little friend," Zane said smiling, "Last time I saw you; you led me to good fortune. What reason have you returned?"_

 _The falcon cawed again, and flew off. Zane ran, following the bird until it flew past the ship and Zane could not follow it. The white ninja continued watching it; however, a dark presence alerted him._

 _"Lord Garmadon," Zane realized as he turned around, "But, you were banished!"_

 _"Only to return for the weapons of Spinjitzu," Lord Garmadon said and then pulled two silver swords off his back, "Soon, I will have the power to re-create Ninjago... in my_ own _image!"_

 _Zane jumped as the Dark Lord swung his two swords, and the ninja landed behind the lord of darkness, and whipped out his shurikens._

"Give me your shurikens of ice!" _Lord Garmadon demanded._

 _"You'll have to take them from me!" Zane shouted, "Ninjaaaaa-Go!"_

 _With that, he spun into his tornado and moved towards Lord Garmadon, only to get caught by the throat and flung back into a pile of metal and machinery by the dark lord._

 _"So be it," the villain muttered, slicing a rope._

 _At the end of a rope was a large crate directly above Zane. Once the rope was severed, the crate came hurtling towards the ninja. Zane looked up and raised a hand to his face instinctively. He closed his eyes... and didn't feel the crate. Zane opened his eyes again and saw a blur of green holding the crate up. The blur moved, and Zane could then clearly see it._

 _"The Green Ninja," Zane marveled, "The legend's true."_

 _And it was true. The Green Ninja stood before him, glowing with a faint green light. Zane then turned his attention back to Lord Garmadon. The lord of darkness brandished his swords and flipped towards the two ninjas. The Green Ninja moved with agility and attacked Lord Garmadon in mid-flip and with an advanced butterfly kick, knocking him a few feet back. The ninja stood in front of Zane, who watched in awe, the emerald hero seem to know every move his opponent was going to make before it even happened!_

 _Lord Garmadon narrowed his red eyes and rushed towards the Green Ninja, who jumped up and landed on the flat sides of Garmadon's swords. The ninja was hurled towards the mast, and he swung around the width of the mast. He dodged the swords and whirled into a green tornado._

 _The white ninja was dumbfounded as he witnessed the Green Ninja then fight Lord Garmadon with the golden nun-chucks. The Green Ninja finally ended the battle and flung the villain off the side of the ship, into the clouds. Zane looked to the other ninja, whose eyes were now burning like fire. He held a ball of flames in his right hand, and the falcon sat calmly on his left arm, an aura of pure energy surrounding the two._

 _"Who are you?" Zane asked and got up, "Kai? Glen? Is that you?"_

 _Something black flashed in front of his face and again._

 _"What's the meaning of this?! Who are you, Green Ninja?!"_

 _Again and again, over and over, black shapes shot by close to his face, until he was surrounded by dozens and dozens of falcons. The Green Ninja just stood there, watching him._

* * *

Zane woke with a start, hitting his head on the underside of Kai's bed. He groaned in pain then opened his eyes and saw the three other ninjas already awake.

"Oh, sleeping in?" Jay's voice reached his ears, "You're gonna be late for training. Glen's been out there since before sunrise."

The white ninja sat up in his bed and asked, "How come no one awakened me?"

"We didn't think you wanted us to," Kai answered, "Looked like you were having some dream."

"How do I know this isn't a dream…" Zane was saying before he got interrupted by Cole whacking him in the face with a pillow.

"Does that feel like a dream?" Cole grinned.

"No," Zane snapped, rubbing his head, "Thank you for your help."

The other boys laughed.

The boys walked out onto the upper deck, where they found Glen working out. Zane blinked and saw Glen's form as he repeatedly and effortlessly beat up a punching bag. When he stopped, he turned at kicked a hanging dummy, sending it back four feet. Zane starred in awe at his moves, similar to what he saw in his dream, and didn't notice Kai tapping him on the shoulder.

"Ha-ha-ha! A little slow today, huh?" Kai said to Zane.

Glen heard him and stopped what he was doing. He stretched and walked to the other boys.

"Morning," Glen yawned, "What's this about Zane being 'a little slow'?"

"He had a dream," Cole replied.

"What exactly did you dream about?" He looked confused.

"I saw the falcon again."

Glen blinked and Jay said, "Whoa, Zane, every time you see that bird, something big happens. First, it led you to Lloyd and Alexis' secret tree house."

"Then, it led you to the Bounty," Cole added.

While they were talking, Sensei Wu walked out onto the deck and stopped in front of them.

"Alright," he said, "Stretches... First: the swooping crane."

He turned around and assumed a pose. The four ninjas copied him as Glen stood back and watched.

"This time, it showed me the Green Ninja," Zane whispered.

Three shouts of "The Green Ninja!" were heard. Sensei Wu turned around and saw Zane copying the pose, Cole covering his ears, Kai covering his eyes, and Jay covering his mouth. Glen just looked confused.

"That looks like the 'shocked monkey'," the old man said, "Bad form, more focus."

He turned around and posed again, the other ninjas following.

"You can't just drop a bomb like that," Jay explained, "Spill the beans."

"Yeah, what else did you see?" Kai asked.

"He was fighting Lord Garmadon," Zane answered.

"Who?" Glen asked, becoming a bit more interested.

"Evil dude trying to take over Ninjago," Jay quickly explained.

"That's what the prophecy said," Kai confirmed, "That the Green Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord."

"Yeah, but, did you get a chance to see which one of us was him?" Cole asked.

"Yeah, didja see?" Jay repeated.

"I could not tell," Zane admitted, "He shared attributes each one of us possess, even Glen's martial art mastery."

"Now!" Sensei Wu crouched low to the ground, "Pinching crab!"

The ninjas copied him and Glen spoke up, "So, the Green Ninja might be… me?"

Zane shrugged, "He performed your moves, so it may be possible."

"Well, tell us everything! And don't spare any details," Kai said, "There has to be a clue that tells us which one of us is gonna be the Green Nin… Ow, ow, ow! Hey!"

While Kai had been talking to Zane, their teacher had walked up to him and pulled his hair.

"What was so important to ignore my teachings?" the man asked.

"Uh, nothing," Kai responded.

"It was nothing, Sensei!" Cole insisted.

"Yeah, we don't talk while you teach," Jay shook his head.

"Everyone was paying attention," Zane said.

"They were just bringing me up to speed," Glen tried to defend them.

Unfortunately, their mentor did not believe them.

"Since you all appear to be lacking focus," Sensei Wu said, "Then you can all share in the punishment! You too Glen, since you seem to need it most."

"What?!"

"Punishment?!"

"It was all Zane!"

"I was merely answering their questions!"

"I'm not even one of your students!"

"No free time, no quiet time, and no video games," their sensei said, "The rest of the day can be used for training... And tomorrow, for that matter..."

He began walking away.

"Training?!" Kai complained, "For how long?"

"Until you can answer this simple riddle," their mentor turned around, "What is the best way to defeat an enemy?"

"Easy, with a sword!" –Kai.

"Your fists!" –Jay.

"Spinjitzu!" –Cole.

"Tornado of Creation?" –Zane.

"Break or destroy the enemy." –Glen.

Glen's answer made the other boys uncomfortable but they were more concerned that it wasn't the right answer.

Sensei Wu sighed and walked up the stairs, saying, "Pace yourselves, you have a lot of training ahead of you. Make sure you sharpen your mind, as well as your skills."

The boys lowered their arms and their whole bodies drooped for a moment. Cole walked to a box full of training gear.

He pulled out a sparring stick and sighed, "What's the best way to defeat an enemy? ... It could be anything!"

Jay set up the training equipment and began using it, saying, "Come on, guys, we're smart. We can figure this out."

Kai threw a blow to a punching bag, and then looked up, Sensei Wu was gone. He, Cole, Jay, and Glen gathered around Zane.

"Yeah, but let's hear more about this dream," the red ninja said.

"Let me just say," Zane began, "The Green Ninja is awesome!"

* * *

The entire Fangpyre army marched across the white snow; the mutated vehicles led the way. While Alexis shivered and tried to warm herself up, Lloyd shouted orders to the army and watched their progress to the Hypnobrai lair eagerly. Far ahead, the Hypnobrai army marched forward, with Skales at the front.

"The Hypnobrai," Lloyd muttered, raising his hands from where they were resting on Fangtom's tail, "Now, we teach them a lesson for betraying Lloyd Garmadon and Alexis… Wait, what's your last name again?"

"I'm an orphan, I don't have one," Alexis stated, "But if you wanna call me something else, my middle name's Karai."

Fangtom stared at the children; Lloyd then replied, "Um... do your thing, Fangpyre, we released you for a reason."

"Attack!" Fangtom's second head shouted.

The kids' ears almost burst from the roar of the Fangpyre and the Hypnobrai armies. Both tribes charged forward, until Skales saw Fangtom. He stuck his staff in the ground as Fangtom jumped off the vehicle he was on and slithered to him. But at the last moment, Alexis could've sworn she heard a record being scratched.

"Skales, my old chum…!" Fangtom's first head exclaimed.

"I didn't think I'd be fighting _you_!" his second head said, "Mmm, moved up in the world, have we?"

He bumped fists with the new Hypnobrai general.

"Well, if it isn't the Fangpyre!" Skales hissed, with a snakeish smile on his face, "Of all the cold-blooded to creep up on ussss, I'm glad that it is a friend."

"Okay, didn't see _that_ one coming," Alexis blinked.

"Wait," Lloyd said, "I thought you were enemies... Not friends!"

"We _were_ at war," Fangtom turned around and explained.

His second head spoke, "But, seeing as how Skales is leading them, well... I don't see why we can't be comrades."

"Had you released the Constrictai," Skales said, "the Venomari, or, heaven forbid, the Anacondrai… then we would've had a tussle."

"A tussle? A tussle?!" Lloyd yelled, "But, I'm Lloyd Garmadon, Bringer of Evil!"

Alexis looked at him and muttered, "You're somethin' alright."

The Serpentine generals just chuckled and turned away from the children.

"What should we do with them?" Skales asked Fangtom, loudly enough for Lloyd and Alexis to hear.

"I could turn them into one of us."

"Hmm... The girl might be a good fit but the boy…. Nah... The little tyke is pretty useless."

"What if you hypnotize him, and make him think he is a pig?"

"That would be pretty funny!"

The two Serpentine generals laughed. While they were distracted, Lloyd climbed off the mutated vehicle and began running, Alexis right behind him. They stopped for a moment and realized the Fangpyre were slowly cutting off their escape. Lloyd hopped onto the tail of another mutated vehicle and helped Alexis up; the vehicle felt them and, narrowing its eyes, threw them off, making the kids scream. Lloyd landed face-first in the snow a few yards away with Alexis a few feet behind him to his left.

Both kids pulled themselves out of the snow with Alexis bitterly remarking, "Well, that was fun."

* * *

"…With his fist on fire," Zane concluded.

The four listening boys "Ohhh"-ed and Kai mused, "So, I'm the Green Ninja."

"What are you talking about?" Cole snapped, "He had incredible strength to lift the cargo and save his life. It's me."

"Um, hello? Did you miss the part of the story where the guy pulled out nun-chucks?" Jay took out his nun-chucks, "I have nun-chucks!"

"I think you are all missing the point of this dream," Zane interrupted, the four looked at him, "The point is, the falcon flew on his arm, and it was my dream. So, naturally it's me."

"How could this Green Ninja person be you," Glen questioned, "When in your dream you were too busy watching his battle?"

"I think we can cross Cole off the list," Jay stated, "I could lift it ten times!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, cross me off the list?" Cole interjected, "What about Glen? The Green Ninja had to have been a ninja, so he can't be him!"

"I never said I'm to be this green ninja warrior!" Glen protested, "I'm just trying to understand this vision Zane had."

"The Green Ninja was holding fire! It's me!"

And the boys began arguing.

"Since you are not training…" The five broke off with little jumps and turned around and saw the ninja master was walking towards them, "You must have already found the answer to my riddle: What is the best way to defeat an enemy?"

"Uh..." Kai thought for a moment, "The best way to defeat your enemy is to... train, Sensei?"

"Feeble and incorrect!" The sensei said, "Maybe more training will help you focus."

"Wait! I know," Glen spoke up, "There is no _one_ good way; it's a trick question, right?"

"No," Was the response, Glen groaned.

"Remember what happened to your vehicles when you lost focus, or how Glen was so easily snuck up on at the junkyard," the old man continued as he backed into a lower part of the ship, "A razor-sharp weapon is an extension of a razor-sharp mind."

And with that, the door slammed shut. The ninjas sighed.

"How am I supposed to focus when we don't know who the Green Ninja is?" Jay whined.

Glen raised an eyebrow and asked, "How is _that_ a priority?"

"I don't want to be training all day," Cole said, "Let's work together on this riddle."

* * *

"Had you released the Constrictai, the Venomari, or _heaven forbid_ , the Anacondrai, then we would've had a tussle," Lloyd mocked the Serpentine generals as he and Alexis walked across the desert.

"In hindsight, if the Fangpyre can't beat four braindead ninjas, an old fart, a tease, and an old couple," Alexis thought aloud, "They probably wouldn't have been able to beat the Hypnobrai."

"Whatever," Lloyd dismissed, not taking his eyes off the map, and asked, "Can you find the next tomb like last time?"

"Don't have to; look up."

He lowered his map and immediately saw a large, off-white fang marking in the desert.

"We found it!"

He ran to the door just under the fang and brushed away the sand and dust.

"The Anacondrai," Lloyd whispered, "The most feared and powerful Serpentine of them all! If they're afraid of the Anacondrai, then the Anacondrai is what they're gonna get! Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Are you insane? The Anacondrai were known to eat their enemies whole and disappear without a trace," Alexis rebuked him, "If you can't control mind controllers and vampire snakes, how are you gonna command man-eaters?"

"You don't understand Alexis, I have to try," Lloyd replied in a low voice as he opened the doors and walked inside.

He had to become braver over the past month that Alexis had joined him. Her mere presence had a weird effect on him, not the mushy-gushy lovey-dovey garbage, more along the lines a sudden need to protect her. Maybe it was a symptom of her powers, maybe an ingrained need to defend a female, or even it was the sheer fact that she was his only true friend. He puffed out his chest slightly as he thought of his bravery in even thinking of releasing the Anacondrai.


End file.
